


The truth about Tony Stark

by WandaRavenBlack



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Arc Reactor, Childhood Memories, Civil War Fix-It, F/M, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Human Experimentation, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, Hydra (Marvel), Mutant Tony Stark, Not Iron Man 3 Compliant, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Natasha, Protective Rhodey, SHIELD, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:23:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 75
Words: 131,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8163508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: Steve and his team are called to Avengers Tower by Natasha. When they arrive they are met with shocking news. Tony is in coma and Friday has obtained some odd videos that she thinks everyone needs to watch. What they see makes them finally understand Tony Stark.UPDATES ON 00.00 CET BETWEEN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for eventual misspellings.  
> Iron Man 3 didn't happen and Tony still has the Arc Reactor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iron Man didn't happen so Tony still has the reactor.

Clint was staring at the envelope in his hands. He knew that handwriting. He knew it all too well. After a few more seconds of staring he slowly went into the kitchen where everyone was currently eating.

"Guys. We got a letter from Natasha."

Steve smiled from where he was sitting next to Bucky. Wanda and Sam frowned. When they escaped they tried to get Natasha and Vision to come with them but they said that someone had to keep an eye on Tony.

"Should I read it?"

Steve shrugged.

"Why not."

After getting the letter out Clint stilled completely. His eyes were flying over the words and suddenly he threw the paper on the table and rushed out with a quick:

"I’m going to pack and talk with T’Challa about a plane."

The kitchen was silent until Bucky stretched his metal arm across the table and took the letter. He was still getting used to the new arm he got from T’Challa but it worked and that was what mattered.

"I’ll just read it then. 'Avengers. This is serious. I need your help. Come immediately to the Avengers Tower. Ross has no control over who lands here so you’ll be safe. Tony won’t even know you’re here. It’s really urgent. Natasha.'"

Everyone looked over to Steve. He silently assessed their faces. Wanda was anxious. She and Natasha had gotten close thanks to Clint but on the other side Wanda still hated Tony and was afraid of getting put in the jail again. Sam and Bucky were looking at him with understanding and acceptance. He knew that they would follow him whatever he decided. Scott looked almost bored. He was the only one who didn’t have any history with them. And now that Cassie was on her way to Wakanda he was a big unknown. Scott must’ve noticed the look he got because he said slowly:

"Look Captain. You are a hero and all and I love you all but I’m out. Cassie is coming here and I don’t want to leave her again. I’m not coming with you."

Steve nodded. He understood. Scott had risked much for them already.

"And the rest of you?"

"I’m going."

Everyone seemed to be surprised that Wanda was sounding confident when she said it. She stood up and went out. Most probably to pack. Sam looked over to Steve and said:

"If you go back I’ll go with you. But think this through Steve. Tony, Ross and a lot other people hate you right now. I’m on your side here brother. But I don’t want another fight like the last one."

Bucky nodded. He didn’t want to fight either. Steve knew he would risk much if they went back. But he knew that they had to.

"Nat helped me and Bucky escape. We owe her. I’m going back. But if Tony tries anything I will not hesitate to punch him."

Sam stood up.

"I’ll pack then. Meeting outside in an hour?"

The Captain nodded.

"Tell Clint and Wanda. We are leaving as soon as King T’Challa lets us."

About an hour later they were all sitting on a plane. T'Challa had came with them after they had explained what had happened. 

Now he was discussing something over a phone in what Steve guessed was Wakandian. Clint and Wanda were playing chess in a corner with Sam hovering over them. Bucky sat a bit more to the side but threw in comments about Clint’s way of playing. Half an hour later Clint cursed loudly when he had lost for the eleventh time.

"Damn Wanda. You are almost as good as Tony and he is unbeatable."

"Well there was that one time…"

Steve didn’t get to finish because Clint waved his hand in the air and interrupted him.

"He was drunk and hadn’t been sleeping for over three days. And he played against Bruce. So I think it’s fair to say that it shouldn’t count."

And just like that it became quiet in the plane. Clint and Steve were thinking about the time at Avengers Tower. Sam and Wanda replayed those game nights in the Facility when they were all together. Bucky let his mind drift to all those things Steve had told him about the original Avengers. It was a pleasant silence. No one spoke again until they landed. They were greeted by Rhodey in some weird braces standing next to Natasha whose long hair was blowing in the wind. As they stepped out of the plane they saw Vision phase through the rooftop to stand a bit behind Natasha. And they all understood the meaning of it. If they were to hurt either Nat or Rhodey they would have Vision to deal with.

"Hey Nat."

Clint went forward without any hesitation and enveloped the woman in a hug. After a few seconds she hugged him back and then took a step away and slapped him in the face.

"You’re an idiot."

The archer smirked.

"Yeah I am. We good?"

She nodded but didn’t smile. Meanwhile Rhodey took a few steps forward to greet the others. Vision, having most probably decided that Natasha was safe with Clint, moved after him.

"Rogers, Barnes, Wilson, Maximoff. It’s good that you came. I was against this but FRIDAY is getting more and more restless and Natasha refused to do anything until you arrived. And it’s great to see you too Your Highness."

Steve felt that one of them had to say something and when both Sam and Bucky shot him looks saying “You’re the leader” he sighed and stepped forward.

"It’s good to see you too Colonel."

Then suddenly Sam took a deep breath and stepped forward towards Rhodey. Vision shifted from foot to foot but stayed where he was.

"Listen Rhodes. For all it’s worth I’m sorry. I should have caught you especially since that blast was meant to hit me. If I had known what it would do to you I would have taken it myself."

Rhodey nodded.

"I know Wilson. Tony told me that you dove after me at the same time he did. And if Tony couldn’t catch up to me in the suit I can impossibly expect your wings to be faster. I never blamed anyone but my own slowness for that one. But come on. We should head inside."

He turned around and started to go towards one of the elevators. Natasha nodded towards Steve and the others and then went in with Clint next to her. Vision put himself strategically between one group and the other. First when the first group had gone inside he smiled sadly to Wanda and then phased through the roof again. Steve, realizing that he was the only one who knew around the tower, lead the others to the other elevator. As soon as the door closed they heard a female voice.

"Which floor? And may I say that it is wonderful to see you having your own brain Sergeant."

Bucky, Sam, Wanda and T’Challa jumped a bit. Steve smiled.

"Hello FRIDAY. It’s nice to hear you again. Could you take us to the floor where Natasha went?"

Silence was the only answer he got. The elevator stood completely still. Steve looked towards the ceiling. He was used to Jarvis always responding even if there had been arguments in the tower. But he had to admit that he didn’t know FRIDAY that well. After a few seconds Bucky looked over to him.

"Why aren’t we moving?"

The voice from the ceiling responded immediately.

"I didn’t hear what floor you wish to go to Sergeant."

Once again everyone except for Steve jumped. They all looked over to Steve who was now having a confused look on his face. Suddenly Sam face palmed and turned to Bucky.

"She’s mad at Steve."

Bucky seemed to understand it immediately and he looked up to the ceiling.

"Um. The floor where the others went. Please."

"Of course Sergeant."

The elevator moved downward and Steve cast a surprised look at Bucky. But he just shrugged his metal shoulder and smirked.

"Seems you are not the favorite here punk."


	2. Natasha Explains

The elevator stopped and they all stepped out to the communal floor. Steve felt sadness. There were so many good memories connected to this place. Natasha was sitting on one of the couches with Rhodey and Vision next to her. Clint had perched himself on the armrest of an armchair and had a grin on his face. He patted the seat of the chair and Wanda went over to sit there. Natasha motioned them forward so they sat down. Sam, Steve and Bucky took another of the couches while T’Challa took an armchair. Before anyone could say anything the door to one of the elevators opened and out stepped…

"Bruce!"

Both Steve and Clint flew up seeing the doctor. But before they could do anything a furious redhead emerged from behind Bruce and marched straight to Steve. She didn’t even pause for a second before she slapped him. Her next slap was directed towards Clint who actually got scratch marks on his cheek from her nails. She turned around to face Bucky and Sam but instead of doing anything physical to them she simply said:

"We’re going to have a long talk about this later."

Then her eyes softened a bit and she added:

"It’s nice to finally meet you Sergeant. And it’s good to see you again Wanda."

Then she slumped into one of the couches. The newcomers were speechless. Steve and Clint, who both knew Pepper from before, were shocked because they had never seen her get physical like that with anyone. Sam, Bucky and T’Challa were glad that she had decided that they were not worth her time. Wanda just smiled warmly at the woman. Pepper had always been like a godmother to her. Ever since she joined the Avengers. Bruce gave Steve a long look before he said calmly:

"Be happy that I am so exhausted or the Other Guy would have gladly beat you up for, as he phrases it, 'hurting tin man'."

Then he sank down on the couch next to Pepper who immediately took his hand and squeezed it a bit. He smiled at her and many of the heroes got a feeling that there might be something more than friendship between the two. Steve returned to his seat while Clint jumped up on Wanda’s armrest and leaned back a bit. He understood Pepper. He had deserved that for what he did. Natasha took a deep breath and started to talk.

"Okey. Now that everyone is here I’ll tell you why I asked Steve and the others to come here. After the fight that Steve, Bucky and Tony had in Siberia everything changed. Me and Vision went there to get Tony back. He was passed out. We took him back here and as soon as he woke up he threw himself into work. He created those braces for Rhodey so that he could walk and made countless upgrades to his armor. But he was literally fading. One day, around one month ago, I found him with a knife in his hand and blood all over his arms. I helped him clean up and put him to bed. The next day Rhodey found him in the exactly same situation. A few days later it was Pepper. And all the time he kept apologizing for not managing to do it right."

Everyone paled. Wanda looked almost like she was going to throw up. Tony Stark was not supposed to be like that. He was supposed to be an asshole. Heartless. She shivered and felt Clint putting an arm around her. She gave him a small smile. Natasha continued not bothering to give them a pause.

"Then two weeks ago he took some pills and then got drunk. That was the day Bruce arrived. He had heard about the whole 'Civil War'. He got here in the last second. Tony survived. But he ended up in a coma. A coma that he still is in as we speak."

Wanda felt a tear slide down her cheek. They had driven Tony Stark to this. She knew she should feel happy. After all Tony Stark was a monster. But all she could think of was Tony Stark lying lifeless on the floor. Natasha threw an apologetic look towards the girl and Wanda nodded. She understood. Natasha had to keep talking. Because even if Wanda felt sorry for Stark it didn’t mean the words were hitting the others. She looked over to Vision who gave her a small smile. The first smile she got from him since the day in the kitchen when he had attempted to cook for her. And Natasha pressed on.

"I found a letter next to him that day. In it he wrote only four sentences. 'Don’t blame Winter. He is innocent. He didn’t do it. I fucked up.' He signed it James Winter."

Suddenly Bucky shot out of his seat and took a few steps towards Natasha. Vision stood up from his place and the stone on his forehead started to glow. But Bucky didn’t seem to notice that. He was staring at Natasha with desperation in his eyes.

"What did you just say?"

"James Winter."

And he just collapsed. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes and his whole body was shaking. Steve got up quickly but as soon as he touched him Bucky turned around and grabbed the Captain’s throat with his metal arm. In one quick motion he threw him into the closest wall. Then he turned his wild eyes towards Natasha.

"Why didn’t anyone tell me? I thought they had killed him. Why didn’t HE tell me?"

Natasha calmly looked back at him and answered:

"Because Steve wouldn’t let him near you."

Meanwhile Sam, Wanda and Clint had gotten up from their seats and moved to stand together. Just in case. Then suddenly Bruce spoke up.

"Why don’t you all just sit down before the Other Guy decides that you all are a threat to Tony and his friends?"

And when they looked over to him they could all see that his brown eyes were now tinted with green. Wanda and Clint were the first ones to take up their old places. Sam helped Steve up and they sat on the couch but Bucky was still standing. He wasn’t crying anymore and seemed more angry than upset. He glanced over towards the couch where Bruce and Pepper were sitting and sat down next to her when the woman gave him a small nod. Steve looked hurt and surprised. Pepper on the other side was calm. This was what Natasha had warned them for. That Bucky might get violent. Not that she really understood why. But she trusted Natasha.

"A few days ago we obtained something that reeked magic. FRIDAY analyzed it and it turns out that it’s memories. Tony’s memories. From a third person perspective. And after watching them Vision told me that they would help you understand Tony better. Understand why he is like he is. What he has lost and been through."

Steve made a disbelieving sound.

"What he’s been through? What he lost? He is Stark. He is arrogant, pain in the ass, selfish, narcissistic and…"

"And if you say one more word I will put a bullet through your crotch and see what Carter thinks about that. Old friend or not, you are NOT allowed to talk like that about him."

Everyone looked at Bucky. For a second it was quiet and then Natasha finally spoke up.

"Wait. You mean that you and Sharon… She is Peggy’s niece Rogers!"

Steve shrugged.

"I know. I felt lonely. It was just a kiss. Nothing more."

Before anyone could respond Rhodey figured out that they didn’t need another argument so he shifted a bit and said:

"Going back to what Nat said. We are going to play those memories now. And you are not allowed to leave. Complete lockdown FRIDAY. Keep an eye on Tony."

"Boss is completely fine right now. At least as fine as a person in COMA gets."

Everyone could sense the sarcasm in the AI’s voice but when she spoke again it was a bit softer.

"Does that mean I can call you Winter? Boss has been saying that. It’s hard to remember to say Sargent."

Bucky nodded slowly. He still seemed completely shocked. Then the lights dimmed and the windows became black. That was another one of Tony’s inventions from the time they still had movie nights. A big screen appeared in front of them all and finally did Vision sit down. Wanda took a deep breath. She had a feeling this would not be nice.


	3. The First Memory

The screen lit up and an image of a small child appeared.

_It was a boy. Around two years old. Black hair was sticking in almost all directions and big brown eyes looked around in fear. He was in some sort of a conference room with no windows. A big wardrobe stood in one corner. Suddenly there were voices outside the room. The boy quickly crawled in under the table. At the same moment the door opened and three men went in. The shortest one was throwing impressed glances at the one with a metal arm. The third one simply went over to one of the chairs and sat down. Unfortunately it was the chair closest to the boy._

_“I still can’t understand that you managed to make Barnes…”_

_“His name is Winter Soldier. And that’s the only name you are allowed to use Howard. Understood?”_

_Howard quickly nodded. The Soldier stood now next to the wall. His eyes swept the room and stopped on the boy curled up under the table. The child slowly put both his hands up in surrender and suddenly they started to glow blue._

_“So what can you offer us Howard? And try to find something we don’t already have.”_

_Howard was looking rather pale. Meanwhile the Soldier and the child kept staring at eachother. Then suddenly the man looked up and started to ignore the boy. The blue glow disappeared._

_“Listen Henry. Stop acting so damn important. You are just a Hydra shit that is not worth anything. I have been providing you with the best of best. The serum, the chair, his arm. What more can you want?”_

_The sitting man smirked suddenly._

_“We heard you have a child Stark.”_

_If he was suspecting any big reaction from Howard he was mistaken. The man simply shrugged and answered:_

_“Anthony? He is useless. You can have him if you want but he is nothing. But a brainwashed Peggy Carter… “_

_Before he could finish the boy jumped out from under the table and screamed:_

_“You can’t! How dare you?! Not aunt Peggy! You stupid, sick bastard!”_

_His hands began to glow once again but before anything more happened the Soldier picked him up and, to everyone's surprise, hugged him. The glow slowly faded. After a few more minutes the boy had calmed down completely and actually fallen asleep against the man._

_“Soldat?”_

_The Soldier looked over to Henry._

_“Sir.”_

_It seemed to calm the man a bit. He turned to a shocked Howard._

_“Not so useless after all. Who would have thought? The hair to the Starks- a mutant. And smart enough to be able to talk flawlessly at this age.”_

_Then he stood up and added sharply:_

_“I’m taking the boy with me. He will be brainwashed and learned everything he needs to serve Hydra. Soldat. We’re leaving.”_

_But the Soldier was standing and looking at the boy who was sleeping in his arms. He looked conflicted. Then suddenly he drew his gun and shot. Henry was dead before he even hit the floor. The boy had been startled awake by the gunshot and was now watching the dead man with wide eyes. Then the Soldier put him back on the floor, nodded and headed towards the door. On the way there he picked up the dead body and then walked out not even looking back. Howard was muttering something under his breath. Something about having a drink. The boy shivered all over. He was visibly afraid. But if it was Howard he was afraid of or the Soldier that had just left was unclear. The man looked over to the boy and then to the pool of blood._

_“Clean this up. Freak.”_

_Then he left the room. After a few seconds a tall man entered. He went over to the boy and picked him up._

_“Master Tony? What happened?”_

_“I… I used it again. And father saw.”_

_The man’s eyes widened a bit. Then he smiled softly and said with a calm voice:_

_“Why don’t you go to sleep Master Tony and I’ll clean this up huh? I promise that it will be our secret.”_

_The boy nodded and leaned a bit more against the man._

_“I love you Jarvis. You know that right?”_

_Jarvis simply nodded and went out of the room not once looking over to the pool of blood._

The screen went black and the it became quiet. Everyone was in various states of shock. The first one to collect himself was Clint. He leaned a bit forward and asked:

“Tony is a mutant?”

That seemed to snap them all out of it and suddenly everyone was trying to say something at the same time. Everyone except for Bucky. Sam was the one who noticed it first and he put both hands up in the air. That made everyone go quiet again. When he spoke his voice was calming as if he was trying to say that he was not a threat and he did absolutely not want to end up being thrown at the wall.

“You knew Stark?”

Bucky shook his head.

“Not like that. I never connected Howard Stark’s son to that boy. I knew him under a different name. And they never did anything to make me believe something else. If I had known that he and Tony are the same person…”

“But he is a mutant?”

Natasha groaned.

“You just saw one of the most dangerous assassins in the world kill his handler because he wanted to save a child and the only thing you can think of is Tony being a mutant.”

“He isn’t that anymore.”

Peppers voice was quiet but in the silent room everyone was able to hear her. Bucky turned towards her with actual fear in his eyes.

“They didn’t.”

“They did. I don’t know where you come into the story later Barnes but they did. When he was ten. Because they couldn’t control him.”

Bucky’s head hung down and when he spoke they could all feel the pain and hate in his voice.

“Ten. The same year I was put back into the cryo. Those bastards planned it from the beginning!”

Suddenly he flew up from his seat and looked around with the same wild eyes he had before. Clint’s and Natasha’s hands moved slowly towards their guns while Vision stood up again. At the same second Friday seemed to think it would be a good idea to make them all calm down so she overloaded the power in one of the lamps and made it shine brightly right before it exploded into pieces.

Everyone looked around shocked while Rhodey and Pepper smiled. They had both seen Jarvis do that. Vision sighed.

“Friday.”

“Could anyone just please calm down? Winter please sit. Those memories are a few hours long and I don’t think standing is a good idea for all that time.”

That was when Bucky suddenly smiled and sat down.

“You can hear that Jamie is the one who created you girl.”

“I take that as a compliment.”

Before anyone could ask anything more Bucky looked around and said calmly:

“Before you ask I am going to say this. I have no idea why I went against orders and saved him. I don’t really remember anything from around that time. Just that I saved a boy who was a mutant and I was put in the chair as soon as I arrived back.”

No one seemed to want to comment on that so Friday figured she should continue with the clips before anyone started to argue again. Wanda was staring at the screen. Tony Stark was a mutant. Tony Stark had powers that seemed to be very familiar to her own. She slowly scratched the word freak out from her mental list of bad things about Stark. After all, calling him a freak would be almost like calling herself a freak. The screen flickered back to life and once again did Vision sit down first when he thought all the danger had disappeared.


	4. Howard's Soldier

_ A four year old Tony was slowly eating in the kitchen while a small woman was cooking. He looked horrible. His lip was split and he had some major bruises all over the body. He was eating dry bread and had a glass of water in front of him. Suddenly the door burst open and an angry Howard Stark marched in.   _

_ “What are you doing here freak?! I told you to clean up my lab!” _

_ He looked at the boy with hate. Tony started to shake. _

_ “I’m sorry sir. But I was hungry and…” _

_ The slap made him fall out of the chair. Not once did the woman turn around. Tony crawled quickly away from Howard but didn’t get far because the man’s kick got him in the stomach. Tears pooled in his eyes but before they could fall Howard grabbed him by the hair and hissed: _

_ “Stark men don’t cry. Stark men are made of iron. You understand that boy?!” _

_ Tony nodded.  _

_ “Yes sir.” _

_ “Good. Now go to my lab and clean it up. And don’t you dare to go anywhere near food for the next three days or I’ll make sure you’ll regret that you were born.” _

_ He pulled the boy to his feet and pushed him towards the door. Tony ran out holding one hand over his stomach. On the stairs he crashed into Jarvis that was heading upstairs.  _

_ “Master Tony?” _

_ He reached out but the boy simply flinched away from him. The butler’s eyes were sad.  _

_ “If I could do anything…” _

_ Tony nodded. At the same second a beautiful blackhaired woman appeared behind Jarvis.  _

_ “Jarvis. What is going on he… Oh my God!” _

_ The boy quickly took a step back when he heard her shout. She looked at him for a few seconds and then suddenly her brown eyes became cold.   _

_ “I’m going to kill him. I will not tolerate this anymore.”  _

_ And she rushed upstairs past the terrified boy who seemed to think that she was talking about killing him. She didn’t get far before Howard stepped out of the kitchen. A slap made him almost lose his balance.  _

_ “Maria?” _

_ Before he could really understand what was going on she pulled a gun out and pointed it at him. He stilled. Behind her Tony and Jarvis were frozen to their spots.  _

_ “I’ve had enough Howard! I understand that a child needs discipline but what you are doing is abuse! You have gone too far! Mutant or not, Tony is my son!” _

_ Howard smirked suddenly.  _

_ “Yes, he is. But he is also my little soldier. Anthony.”  _

_ A flash of blue and Maria was thrown backwards while the gun levitated over to Howard and fell at his feet. Jarvis and Maria looked in shock at Tony who was standing with his both hands up in the air. A blue glow was surrounding him.  _

_ “Tony. Please.”  _

_ But the boy kept his eyes on Howard. The man smiled triumphantly while Maria started to cry.  _

_ “You’ve created a monster Howard.”  _

_ She slowly picked herself up and hurried away. Tony quickly turned around and ran downstairs most probably to clean up the lab. The two men looked at each other and finally Jarvis got the courage to ask: _

_ “Why did he attack Mrs. Stark? _

_ Howard smiled.  _

_ “It’s an experiment I’ve been doing on the boy. The more I hurt him, the more obedient he gets. He will do whatever I tell him to do as long as it keeps him away from punishment. It works perfectly.” _

_ Then he turned around and went away in the same direction Maria had gone. Jarvis sighed and headed downstairs once again. The youngest Stark would need him. When he entered the lab he saw the boy levitating a machine up so that he could clean the floor from under it.  _

_ “Master Tony.” _

_ The machine started to fall only to be caught up in the last second before it crushed the boy. He crawled out from under it and looked over to Jarvis with big blue eyes. They seemed to almost glow and the butler remembered his shock when he saw them the first time. The machine slowly lowered itself onto the ground and Tony’s eyes changed back to his normal brown.  _

_ “I need help Jarvis.” _

_ The butler nodded.  _

_ “I know sir.”  _

_ “That woman. She is my mother right?”  _

_ Jarvis nodded once again. Oddly enough he looked surprised.  _

_ “Why didn’t she do anything before?”  _

_ “She was scared. Of your father.”  _

_ Suddenly the door burst open. Howard walked in and turned immediately to Jarvis.  _

_ “We are going away for a few days Jarvis. Me and Maria. You’re coming with us. Thelma will keep an eye on the freak. Get the car out of the garage. I’m driving.”  _

_ Then he walked out again. Tony just nodded when Jarvis turned towards him again.  _

_ “Go. I’ll be fine.”  _

Pepper was now crying. The only thing keeping Natasha from crying were the years of training she had behind her. Clint looked like he wanted to shoot someone and Sam looked as if he was going to be sick. Bucky was pale. 

“It’s that day.” 

Everyone turned towards him. He took a deep breath and continued:

“They are going to go in the car. I will be behind them. I will crash the car and kill them all.” 

“It wasn’t your fault Bucky.”

It was quiet for a second and then Bucky stood up, went over to Steve and punched him in the face. With the metal hand. Sam stood up and put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. 

“Calm down Barnes. We don’t need any more fights.” 

“Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?”

At that both Natasha and Vision started to laugh. 

“You realize you are quoting Tony right Bruce?” 

The doctor just smiled and in that second Bucky decided that however it all would end he liked Bruce Banner. Sam, Wanda and Clint on the other hand looked confused. Natasha quickly started to tell. 

“It was the first time we all met on the Helicarrier. When Loki blew it up. Everyone was arguing and Fury told Bruce to step back. That was when Tony asked that question. And Steve answered “You know damn well why”. And they started to argue and honestly Steve stepped way out of line with some things he said. But before it went far enough for them to hit each other the carrier blew up and we all had to fight.” 

Bucky turned slowly to Steve and asked with a low and dangerous voice:

“What did you say to him?” 

Before the Captain managed to say anything Bruce jumped in. 

“Why don’t Friday just show us the clip from that? You have it right?”

“Yes Doc.”

Bucky slowly sat down next to Pepper again and Friday started the right clip.

_ Tony was standing next to Steve. Natasha and Thor were on the other side of the room while Fury and Bruce stood next to the table.  _

_ “Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?” _

_ He put the hand on the others shoulder only for the Captain to knock it off.  _

_ “You know damn well why. Back off!” _

_ Tony looked over at him with almost hurt but the arrogant mask was on just a second later and he answered in a low voice: _

_ “Oh I’m starting to want you to make me.” _

_ Steve made something like a smirk and started to go around Tony. _

_ “Yeah. Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?” _

_ Tony kept his eyes on Natasha as he answered with confidence: _

_ “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” _

_ Natasha made a face that screamed “He is telling the truth!” _

_ “I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you.” _

_ Tonys head dropped when Steve was talking but when he raised it again his voice was strong.  _

_ “I think I would just cut the wire.” _

_ Bruce smiled at that seemingly proud of Tony standing up for himself. Steve didn’t seem so happy.  _

_ “Always a way out… You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.” _

_ That seemed to be the last drop for Tony. His eyes were angry when he took a step towards Steve. _

_ “A hero? Like you? You’re a lab rat Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle!”  _

_ Steve slowly nodded and his eyes were almost disgusted when he said: _

_ “Put on the suit. Let’s go a few rounds.” _

The fact that Pepper had put her hand on Bucky’s arm was the only thing that stopped him from getting up and punching Steve again. Clint on the other side was grinning like a madman. 

“Cap just got owned by Shellhead. Why do I always have to miss stuff like that?”

Natasha actually facepalmed. 


	5. Sam Understands

Slowly Sam turned towards Steve. 

“Steve. Did you know Tony back then? I mean, have you two met before that or was it the first time ever you saw each other?”

“First time. How so?” 

For a second it was quiet and then Bucky shook of Peppers hand and started to head towards Steve. But this time no punch came. He simply stood over Steve and stared at him. Then he started to talk and everyone noticed how the Captain suddenly paled. 

“I don’t remember much Steve, but I remember a talk we had once after you had been changed. You told me about what Erskine had said to you. That however the experiment goes he wanted you to stay the way you were. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man. And remember what I told you when you asked if I was ready to follow Captain America? I’m just going to quote myself here. ‘Hell, no! The little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight? I’m following him.’ But right now I wouldn’t even follow you to the store. You’ve changed Steve. I tried to not think about it. I tried to ignore the fact that you were ready to break up the team only because you wanted to help me. But what I see now is not a broken team. It’s a broken family. And if I had known that you had changed so much I would have simply gone back to Hydra. Because the person who you are now is not the person I swore to follow. I’m going to apologize to Jamie once he wakes up. And if he decides that I am too far gone to be around people then I will go back into the cryo.”

Then he turned away from the stunned Steve and looked at the others. 

“For all it’s worth I’m sorry. I’m sorry for getting between you all. I’m sorry for destroying this for you. I’m sorry for not trying to deal with this in some other way.”

They were all stunned. Natasha was the first to nod. Seeing that Rhodey, Pepper, Bruce and Vision did the same. Clint and Wanda were both feeling guilty. Because it was first now that Bucky voiced it that they really understood what the fight had done to everyone. Sam looked around and for the first time tried to not think about what Steve had said and simply evaluate them all like a psychiatrist. What he saw terrified him. Natasha was slumped back a bit, almost as if she was too tired to care about anything, which was not normal for the spy he had gotten to know. Rhodey was shifting his legs from time to time and throwing worried glances towards Pepper. On his arms were braclets that Sam knew were meant to call the suit. Pepper had wrinkled clothes and her hair was in a messy bun and it looked so odd on her that he understood that this was not how she usually looked. She must’ve stopped taking care of herself that much when Tony fell into the coma. Bruce was the most calm one but when Sam looked a bit closer he noticed that the green tinge had never left the doctor’s eyes. Clint was sitting close to Wanda, which wasn’t a surprise, but one of his hands was resting close to his holster. He was ready to draw the gun and fight if that would be necessary. Wanda looked almost shellshocked. Her fingers were moving on their own and the red energy was circulating between them. Vision was tense, ready to get up and protect his little group if it would be necessary. Always on his guard, the stone on his forehead glowing lightly. Bucky looked like shit. Sam was now positively sure that if there would be a fight Bucky would stand on Team Tony’s side. And that was when it hit him. They were two teams. To groups of people. He remembered the first time he had been taken to the Tower for a movie night. He remembered how everyone’s demeanor changed as soon as they stepped into the common room. How both spies and Steve had finally dropped their masks and thrown themselves onto the couches. How Vision placed a blanket over Wanda when she fell asleep and how Tony had looked so much calmer and more at peace than he ever did outside the Tower. He remembered coming to the kitchen one morning only to find Steve arguing with the toaster that seemed to refuse to give back his toast. He laughed so hard that he cried. He remembered one day when Clint came by with his family and Lila had started to cry because she wanted a dog but she was allergic. Tony had locked himself in the lab for a whole night only to emerge in the morning with a robot dog that could do everything that a normal dog could do. And Sam realized that Bucky was right. Steve didn’t only split the team up when he didn’t want to talk to Tony. He destroyed a family. He slowly looked over to the couch where Natasha, Rhodey and Vision were sitting and said:

“I’m sorry too. I should have listened to all sides and not let myself be blinded by the fact that I knew Steve better than Tony. Barnes… Bucky is right. We were all a family. And if there is anything I can do to make it better I will.”

Once again the people who had been on Tony’s side nodded. Steve was still pale so, wanting to avoid any further fights, Pepper reached out and dragged Bucky down onto the couch. Clint looked over to Natasha and then Bucky.

“Um… Bucky?”

The assassin looked over to him. 

“Who is Jamie? You said that you would apologize to Jamie.” 

But before Bucky could answer Friday took over. 

“If you may Winter. It is all explained in the next clip so maybe we should just watch it.” 

Everyone nodded and Friday played it. 


	6. James Winter

_Tony was slowly making his way down the stairs when suddenly he felt Thelma grab his shoulder and drag him backwards. He stumbled and fell down but she simply kept dragging him upstairs._

_“Sir Howard said that you are not allowed out of your room and I will not allow you to go anywhere. You’ll only hurt someone. That’s all freaks like you do. Hurt people.”_

_Tony was trying to shove her away without using his powers but for a women as small as she, she was surprisingly strong. Suddenly they heard voices from downstairs and both of them stilled. Then Thelma took out a small gun from her apron, let go of the boy and started to go downstairs._

_“Get back to your room freak.”_

_But Tony just waited until she had gone all the way down and then followed her quietly. As he walked into the living room he saw Thelma standing completely still staring at the men in front of her. All the confidence from before had disappeared from her. Then one of the men lifted his gun and shot. The woman fell to the ground. Tony looked over to the men and lifted his glowing hands up. His eyes slowly became blue and he was getting ready to either attack or protect himself when he noticed the metal arm one of the men had. He looked up and was met by a pair of ice blue eyes. He threw himself towards the man._

_“You came back!”_

_The man caught him and lifted him up. Tony hugged him and the blue power faded as well as the blue in his eyes. One of the other men stepped forward._

_“Asset. What’s the meaning of this?”_

_The Asset simply put the boy on his hip and held him in place with his metal arm. Then he looked over to the man and answered coldly:_

_“The boy is coming with me.”_

_The man, most probably feeling suicidal, stepped closer to them and said:_

_“No way. He is going to be killed. We don’t need him.”_

_For a second everyone was quiet and then the Asset lifted his gun and shot the man. He fell down dead. No one else dared to say anything. The Asset looked at the boy and asked with the same cold voice:_

_“Is there anyone else in the house?”_

_The boy shook his head._

_“Mother and Howard left with Jarvis. Aunt Peggy is working and Ana is not here on Tuesdays. She only comes in on Sundays.”_

_The Asset nodded and headed towards the door. He went out and went over to one of the cars. He slipped into the front seat and sat the boy down on his knees. Tony quickly turned a bit so that he could look out the window. One of the men got into the driver seat and two others got into the back. The other men got into the second car. They drove for about one hour. Tony’s eyes were all the time looking out the window with fascination. When they stopped, the Asset was the first one to get out of the car. He lifted Tony up and went over to the building. He got inside and went immediately to the laboratory. He opened the door and went in. Everyone was staring in shock when the Asset went in with the child. One of the men stood up from where he was sitting and went over to them._

_“What is the meaning of this?!”_

_Tony, hearing the sharp voice, curled up a bit and hid his face in the crook of the Soldiers neck. The man must’ve noticed the way the boy shuddered because the next time he spoke his voice was softer._

_“Where did you find him?”_

_“Howard Stark’s mansion.”_

_“Why did you take him?”_

_“He’s special. I like him.”_

_The man kept his eyes on the boy when one of the men from the cars went in._

_“Mr. Pierce.”_

_“What is this? I told you to kill everyone.”_

_The man paled._

_“We wanted to sir. But the Asset wouldn’t let us. He killed Johnson when he tried to kill the boy.”_

_Pierce didn’t take his eyes off of the boy. A few seconds later he nodded._

_“Fine. He can stay. But I want to know why he is special.”_

_The last thing was directed towards the Asset. He simply put the boy on the floor. Tony grabbed his metal hand and looked up with wide eyes._

_“Is this Hydra?”_

_Everyone except for the Asset stilled. He nodded. Tony looked around and suddenly smiled._

_“You won’t kill me?”_

_The Asset shook his head. That seemed to calm Tony down and he lifted both his hands up. They begun to glow and his eyes turned blue. He directed the energy towards one of the tables and lifted it up. He made it flip upside down and fly around in the room before he turned it right and put it down in the exactly same place. All the time the things on the table didn’t move an inch. Pierce looked at the boy with wonder._

_“What’s your name?”_

_Tony shrugged while his eyes went back to brown._

_“I don’t wanna use my name.”_

_“James.”_

_Pierce looked up at the Asset. There was something like panic in his eyes._

_“WHAT did you say?”_

_His voice was sharp but quiet as if he didn’t want to scare the boy. The Asset didn’t even react to that._

_“His name is James. I remember that.”_

_One of the men in the lab coats came forward._

_“Sir. I don’t think this is a good idea.”_

_“Why not?”_

_“He might remember…”_

_“He won’t.”_

_Then he turned towards the boy and nodded._

_“So, James. And the last name?”_

_“Winter. It’s his name so I can have it as a last name. Right?”_

_Tony’s voice became suddenly frightened. As if he was afraid of making a decision on his own. As if he thought he would be punished for it. Pierce smiled and nodded again._

_“Of course James. Asset take him to Block A. Take one of those rooms. Your old… um, room, is not fitting for a child.”_

_“Yes sir.”_

_The Asset grabbed the boy’s hand and started to head towards the door. Before they exited Tony asked quietly:_

_“Does this mean that I can use it whenever I want?”_

_The Asset nodded._

_“Yes Jamie. You can.”_

_When they had gone out the same man in the rock came forward again._

_“Sir. This is not smart. If he keeps using the name James he might remember that his own name is James.”_

_But Pierce shook his head._

_“He won’t remember. When he gets back you are going to question him. Make sure that the only thing he associates with that name is the boy. Wipe him if you have to.”_

_“And the boy? You surely understand sir that if they took the boy from Stark’s mansion then that must be…”_

_“Tony Stark?”_

_Pierce laughed._

_“Yes. I do realize it. And imagine Stark’s genius and the boy’s powers in one. In Hydra’s hands. Act nice around him. Make him feel safe. It’s obvious that he was abused by Howard. Make him feel at home here. He will get useful later.”_

_The man in the coat sighed quietly but when Pierce looked over to him he quickly stood straight and said with power:_

_“Hail Hydra.”_

Clint was on the verge of shooting someone or something. He knew how it felt to be abused by your parents. He also knew how it felt to have someone fuck with your brain. Because that was what Pierce was doing with Tony. Giving him false hopes about a safe place so that he could use his powers. Wanda felt rage inside her. Hydra was going to use her for her powers once. Now seeing it happen to Tony she felt angry. How dare they?! Using an abused child only because they wanted power. Then she quickly stopped her thoughts. Was she really feeling sympathy towards Tony Stark? Pepper looked over to Bucky and smiled.

“I know what they did to him later. And I hate them for that. But thank you. Thank you for getting him away from Howard. At least he had some happy years as a child.”

Bucky nodded slowly. It was clear that he was not used to being thanked for anything. Pepper looked over to Wanda.

“You alright Wanda?”

Wanda nodded.

“Yeah. I just… He was a child. I still hate him but he didn’t deserve that.”

Bucky felt Pepper still completely. Then she slowly got up and went over to the girl. Vision shifted slightly in his seat.

“Listen now young lady. I don’t like you. Understood? I have been trying to act nice and treat you like a godchild because Tony talked me into it. He said you had changed. That you were just lost. But now I see that you have not changed at all. How can you hate Tony after everything he gave you and everything he did for you?”

Wanda’s eyes suddenly became cold.

“Did for me? He put me in a prison cell!”

“A prison cell he built for himself!”

Everyone, even Natasha and Rhodey, stilled. Wanda’s and Vision’s eyes widened.

“What?”


	7. Guns

Pepper turned around to look at the others.

“None of you knew? Not even you Rhodey?”

Said man shook his head. Pepper took a deep breath and started to talk.

“The cells on the Raft were never strong enough to hold anyone else then simply normal heroes. Then some idiot asked Tony what would happen if the Iron Man ever became evil. And Tony couldn’t let it go. So he contacted the Raft and built several cells there. Cells strong enough that he wouldn’t be able to get out even if he miraculously got his powers back one day. He built those cells because he didn’t trust himself. And then the Avengers happened and I thought he had forgotten about it all. But then, after Ultron, he came home one day and told me that he was going to go to the Raft. He said that he had done so much bad that he would never be able to functionate in the world ever again. And I couldn’t let that happen. So I had Friday lock him in the lab and called in Rhodey saying that Tony was acting strange. Rhodey came over and Tony stayed. And then you all started to fight and right before he went to that airport he told me that if anything goes wrong he will take the blame and Ross won’t have any other choice but to lock him up. Next thing I know Rhodey is paralyzed, part of the team is locked up and Tony is suddenly dying somewhere in Siberia. But all along those cells were meant for himself.”

She slumped back into her seat and Bruce put an arm around her. Everyone was shocked. Tony Stark had built a cell for himself. Tony Stark thought he was a threat. The first one to speak was Sam.

“So basically he thought he was a threat to the world?”

Pepper nodded. Wanda was shocked. Pepper had been nice to her only because Tony had asked her to? But why would Tony Stark want anyone to be nice to her? He had killed her parents. And Pietro. He had created Ultron and destroyed Sokovia. He had agreed to the Accords. Why would he care about Wanda? She looked over to Pepper. She had grown to like Pepper. She thought they had became close friends. Then suddenly Friday spoke up.

“I think this could be a good time to play the next one. Before someone starts a fight.”

Everyone nodded.

_Tony was sitting on the bed in a nice looking room. There was a desk in one corner and a double bed in the other. A small couch was put against one of the walls and a shelf full of books was standing next to it. Metal parts and tools were everywhere. The boy looked around the same age as before but he was in much better shape. He had gained weight so that he looked like a healthy child his age should and the bruises had faded completely. He was wearing a red shirt and jeans and was currently trying to take a gun apart. When he didn’t manage he let both of his hands glow and was going to blow the weapon up when the door opened. Winter went in and looked over to the boy._

_“You aren’t in the lab?”_

_“And you aren’t on a mission?”_

_For a second they just stared at each other and then the Asset smiled._

_“Fair enough. Care to explain what you were doing with my gun?”_

_Suddenly Tony looked ashamed. He glanced at the weapon and then back at the Soldier._

_“I… I was going to take it apart and clean it. But I couldn’t.”_

_Winter just nodded in understanding._

_“So you decided to blow it up instead.”_

_Tony smiled at him and nodded. With a sigh Winter sat down and took the gun up._

_“Now watch closely.”_

_He then took the gun apart while he explained what he was doing all the time. Then he put it back together and slid it over to the boy. It took Tony only one try to take the gun apart this time. He looked over to Winter and the man smiled._

_“Good job Jamie.”_

_The boy beamed. Seeing that Winter glanced towards where his sniper rifle was standing against the wall. Tony followed his eyes and drew in a sharp breath. Winter looked back at him and asked:_

_“You wanna try that one?”_

_Tony nodded quickly. Winter motioned with his head towards the rifle and Tony understood. His eyes became blue once more and the rifle slowly levitated towards them. The man nodded and ruffled the boy’s hair when the rifle landed on the bed. He took it up and went through the same procedure with it as he did with the gun. Tony’s eyes never left his hands. When the rifle was in pieces Winter strated to name all the pieces and then looked up at the boy. Understanding, Tony repeated them all and then watched as Winter put the rifle back together. Even this time did it take only one try for Tony to get it right._

_“You’re good at this.”_

_And once again Tony’s face lit up. He moved closer to Winter and then crawled into his lap._

_“Are you going away again?”_

_The man shrugged._

_“No idea. But I’ve noticed that ever since you moved in here they have been keeping me closer to the base than before.”_

_Tony nodded. After a few seconds of silence Winter sighed._

_“What is it Jamie? There is clearly something bothering you.”_

_It took the boy around two whole minutes to finally ask:_

_“Will you teach me how to shoot?”_

_It seemed to take Winter by surprise. He looked at the boy’s face for a few seconds and then stood up and placed him on his hip. Tony made a sound that sounded close to a squeak and quickly grabbed Winter’s jacket. The man took up the gun and handed it to the boy who took it with one hand and hugged it. Then he grabbed a hold on the rifle with his other hand and shifted his grip of the metal arm so that Tony was sitting more comfortably._

_“Shooting range next.”_

_Tony smiled from ear to ear and hugged the gun tighter. While they were going to the shooting range they were met with three different reactions. Some people simply nodded towards them, visibly afraid. Some completely ignored them and some said a quick “Hey James” before they hurried off to wherever they were going. And all the time Tony was smiling._

Natasha smiled over to Bucky.

“You really had a soft spot for him back then right?”

Bucky nodded. He had to admit that he had always liked Jamie. Even when he had been brainwashed. Jamie had somehow managed to turn the Winter Soldier into a better man. Until Hydra ripped them apart and told Winter that Jamie was dead. But now. Now he had the chance to reunite with his little kid. Even if said kid was a grown up man now.

“Were you really allowed to simply walk around the Hydra base like that?”

Bucky shook his head and looked over to Rhodey who had asked the question.

“Not before. But then again I didn’t really have any purpose with going around before that. If I was told to go somewhere I went there. Otherwise I stayed in my cell. But I think Pierce understood that he couldn’t keep Jamie in the room all the time and that Jamie would want me to walk around with him. So I got permission to move around the base whenever I wanted.”

“Wait a second.”

Clint put both hands up in the air and everyone turned towards him.

“Your cell? That room was in no way a cell.”

Natasha rolled her eyes.

“You missed the part where Pierce told Bucky to take Tony to Block A because his old “room” was not fitting for a child?”

Clint looked over to her and nodded.

“You know, I was too busy thinking about the fact that Tony was going to be used by Hydra.”

Meanwhile Bruce was watching Steve.

“Rogers?”

The Captain snapped out of his thoughts and looked over to Bruce.

“Those memories must’ve been altered by someone. There is no way Howard would ever…”

A few more lights exploded and the scared look at Steve’s face was the only thing that kept Bucky from attacking him again. Friday’s voice rang through the room loud and clear.

“If you don’t accept the truth about Howard Stark being an asshole I will personally kick you out of this tower and make sure Ross will find you Captain. You aren’t the only person in the world who’s had a rough childhood and I will NOT accept you talking like that about Boss. Am I making myself clear?”

Steve nodded and all the others, except for Pepper and Rhodey who had known Jarvis for a really long time, were stunned at the level of human emotion the AI displayed. Bucky grinned towards the ceiling and said softly:

“Thanks girl.”

Friday’s voice was much calmer when she answered:

“It’s okey Winter. But if the Captain will keep being an asshole I have nothing against you punching him again.”

“It will be my honour kid.”

Natasha looked from Bucky to the ceiling and then back to Bucky. When she spoke her words seemed to be chosen carefully.

“It’s easy to notice that you’ve known Tony better than anyone. He would love the way you interact with Friday.”

Instead of answering he waved his hand towards the screen and Friday played the next clip.


	8. The Mission

_Tony was around eight years old now. He looked well and healthy now. There was some kind of robot in front of him and he was gently putting the last pieces in place when the door opened and Pierce walked in. Tony looked up and smiled._

_“Look sir. I’ve built a…”_

_Then he noticed the look on Pierce’s face and stopped._

_“What is it? Something happened?”_

_Pierce sat down on the couch and petted the seat next to him. Tony went over and sat there. He didn’t look scared in any way. Pierce placed his arm on the boy’s shoulder and said slowly:_

_“I’m sorry I have to tell you about it this way but I have to. Winter is gone.”_

_Tony’s eyes widened._

_“Wha…? How?”_

_“He was on a mission. Something went wrong. They found his body. Or rather the mess that was his body. They recognized the arm. I’m sorry James.”_

_Tony was shaking. Suddenly all the glass in the room exploded. Pierce ducked the flying books and looked nervously over to the boy. Tony’s eyes were shining blue and the blue glow was on literally everything in the room. The man moved closer to him and hugged the child._

_“James. Listen to me James. I know you are mad. But I know who killed Winter. Why don’t you save the energy to take them down instead of destroying this place.”_

_It took a few minutes but in the end the blue disappeared and Tony collapsed exhausted. He nodded._

_“You’ll… help me?”_

_“Yes James.”_

_He picked the boy up and carried him over to the bed. He put Tony on the bed and placed a blanket over him._

_“Sleep now James. You’ll have to train to be able to take on them.”_

_“Who are they?”_

_“SHIELD.”_

_Tony stilled._

_“Aunt Peggy.”_

_Pierce looked at him sharply. But then he smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair._

_“Sleep James. We’ll talk in the morning.”_

_Tony nodded slowly and Pierce begun to head towards the door. When he turned around on the doorstep he saw Tony hug the gun that Winter had left him and finally did the boy start to cry. He closed the door and went quickly into the laboratory. A smirk appeared on his face when he saw the cryo chamber with the Winter Soldier in it._

_“Get the chamber on a truck and get him away from here. Go to Germany and do not come back until you are called. The boy can not find out that the Asset is still alive. Understood?”_

_The men nodded._

_“Yes sir. Hail Hydra!”_

Before anyone could say anything Friday played another one.

_Tony was around nine now. He was wearing fitting black clothes and his eyes were glowing blue. About 20 men were attacking him. He used his powers to keep them at a distance. The way he moved was almost as if he was flowing. When one of the men kicked at his legs he used his power to lift himself into the air. He fired at the man on the floor knocking him unconscious. He landed with catlike grace and kept fighting until every man was down. The door in one of the corners opened and Pierce walked in._

_“Good job James. I think you are ready.”_

_The blue eyes changed to brown for a second only to go back to blue immediately after. Pierce smiled. Then he threw something at the boy but before it could hit him it halted in mid-air and floated slowly towards Tony. He grabbed it and his eyes widened. It was a black mask. Almost identical to the one…_

_“Winter.”_

_Pierce shook his head._

_“We had one made for you. His would not fit you. But I remembered you talking about an Aunt Peggy when we spoke about SHIELD. We wouldn’t want her to figure out who you are. Right Tony?”_

_The power around the boy shifted to protect him from Pierce. But the man simply raised an eyebrow._

_“You can be calm. I’ve known from the first day. I don’t care what name you use. If you feel more comfortable with James then we’ll use it. But SHIELD and Howard’s friend Obadiah Stane are still looking for you. Now they only want to use you as a replacement for your father. So I guess it will be better if they don’t figure out the connection between Tony Stark and James Winter. Am I right?”_

_The power drew back a bit but was still around Tony. As if he didn’t want to put it away for even a second. And his eyes still stayed blue. A few seconds later the boy lifted the mask and put it on. Then he dragged his black hood up. The only thing that still stood out were the eyes but neither he or Pierce seemed to notice that._

_“Good. The mission is in New York. One of the bigger SHIELD bases. The last place Winter was in. The place where they found his body.”_

_Tony nodded and headed towards the door. A few men were already standing outside waiting for him. He stepped closer to one of the cars and his power extended itself to open one of the doors. He sat down on the front passenger seat and slammed the door shut. The men got in after him and they drove off in silence. Only one of the men had tried to make a conversation. He leaned forward and asked with a smirk:_

_“You a big fan of the Asset right?”_

_The energy shot towards him and he was choked for a few seconds before Tony let him go._

_“Be glad that I need everyone on this mission.”_

_After that the men had not tried to say anything else and were visibly shaken. They stopped outside a big building. When they got out and met with the men from the other car everyone was very clearly keeping away from the boy._

_“Okey there are three people on the ground level. They are acting as a smoke screen. Trained agents but most probably not any bigger threat. They are supposed to say that it is a place where you can forge your papers. The real base starts on the second floor.”_

_Tony was standing quiet for a few seconds, his brain processing what he just heard. Then he nodded and said:_

_“You three take care of the guards down here. Then keep guard in case they manage to call in backup. Two of you are coming with me. Four are going to take the emergency stairs on the outside and get up on the ceiling. Make sure no one escapes that way. Work your way downwards. We’ll catch them in between us.”_

_For a second everyone was staring at him but then the men that had been riding in Tony’s car nodded and headed towards the emergency stairs. Tony and the other five headed towards the front door. Tony opened it with his power and three of the agents rushed in shooting. Two of them stood outside with Tony. Then one of the men stuck his head out and said:_

_“All clear here.”_

_Tony and his two men strode in. The three SHIELD agents were lying dead on the floor. Tony nodded and headed towards the stairs. Before he got there he turned and looked over to the two men._

_“They will know by now that we are here. When we get up there you need to do only one thing. Shoot. Don’t care about anyone shooting at you. I’ll take care of that.”_

_The men nodded, too stunned to say anything. Then they went up. As soon as they opened the door shots were fired at them but all of the bullets were deflected by the shield that Tony had created. The SHIELD agents were thrown off by the fact that there was a mutant among the Hydra agents but they collected themselves rather quickly when a woman rushed in with her gun drawn. Seeing her Tony lost his concentration for a second which resulted in one of his men being killed. The woman looked over to him and her eyes widened when she saw the blue eyes._

_“Tony?”_

_Instead of answering he shot his energy forward and knocked all the agents unconscious. All but the woman. She was staring at him in disbelief. His man shot at her but Tony simply stopped the bullet._

_“You touch her, I kill you”_

_Then he turned towards her and said calmly:_

_“Agent Peggy Carter. I hope we can work together right now because I would hate to have to take you back with me. So I’ll ask one question and then you are free to go.”_

_He took a step closer to her and his voice got filled with hatred._

_“Where is the monster that killed Winter?”_

_For a second Peggy was simply staring at him. Then she took a small key out and threw it towards Tony. It stopped before him just like the mask had done before. She nodded towards a desk that stood next to a window._

_“Every file about the Winter Soldier is there.”_

_He walked over to the desk and opened it. The file was not thick at all. It was clear that SHIELD didn’t know much about the Soldier. Tony flipped the last side open and stilled. The last side was from two years earlier. He looked up at the woman._

_“It says nothing about who killed him.”_

_She nodded._

_“And trust me Tony when I say that it would be there if it happened.”_

_He breathed hard. Suddenly it felt like the mask was suffocating him. He reached a hand up and took the mask off, pulling the hood down at the same time. His face was a mixture of relief, pain and hate. But before he could do or say anything the man had pulled a device out and pushed a button on it while pointing it away from himself. Tony didn’t manage to react. The shockwave hit both him and the woman. But while she had been lucky to hit the couch and simply fainted because of the pressure from the wave, Tony had hit the wall and blacked out. The man quickly lifted him up and ran out of the room. On the first floor he motioned for the three men down there to follow him. He threw the boy into the back seat and drove off, the three men following him in the other car. Well at the Hydra base he rushed to the lab holding the boy over his shoulder. Seeing him Pierce narrowed his eyes._

_“What’s going on?”_

_The man put Tony on the chair they had used for the Winter Soldier and strapped him down. Then he turned towards Pierce._

_“Carter appeared and he wouldn’t let us kill her. Then he asked her about who killed the Winter Soldier. She gave him keys to the desk where they kept Asset’s files. From them he figured out that the Asset was not killed by SHIELD. He seemed to lose concentration for a moment so I shocked him and Carter and got him back here. We left four men behind but they know what to do in case they get captured.”_

_Pierce nodded and turned towards one of the men in the lab coats._

_“Do it. Before he wakes up.”_

_The man took up a big syringe and plunged the needle into Tony’s arm. But instead of blood it seemed to draw something blue from him. It went slow. About 15 minutes later the syringe was taken away. Pierce lifted a bucket of water and doused it on top of the boy. Tony woke up and begun to cough. When he had calmed down he looked up at Pierce with hate._

_“You killed him. To get to my powers.”_

_Pierce smirked._

_“You really thought I would like a freak like you? No. You were my little soldier. We just had to raise you the right way. But the Asset was always putting himself between you and me. So he had to disappear. And now. We have exactly what we wanted.”_

_Tony almost growled at him._

_“I will not work for you anymore. I will…”_

_And then he stilled. His eyes became confused and he quickly glimpsed towards the glass on the other side of the room. They were brown. His eyes were brown. He turned back to Pierce with a scared expression._

_“You took it. You…”_

_He started to shake. Pierce nodded._

_“Yes. We took it. You won’t use it to help us so you don’t need it anymore. You don’t deserve it. One day, it will be given to someone else. To someone who will never turn away from us. Who will serve Hydra. You are useless.”_

_He motioned towards the man in the coat and he put another needle in the boy’s arm. But this time he didn’t take anything. Instead he injected the boy with something and a few seconds later Tony fell asleep. Pierce undid the restraints and nodded towards some men._

_“Take him into the city. Leave him on the street. It’s freezing cold outside. He will not survive.”_

_The man lifted Tony up and went out. He drove into the city and then opened the door and simply pushed the partly awakened boy out into the snow. Tony rolled a bit and came to a halt next to a building. The man drove off and Tony slowly sat up. His fingers were moving on their own accord and he seemed lost. But then his eyes became cold. He stood up on shaky legs and started to head towards the hospital. He opened the door and the receptionist quickly went around the desk to get to him. But before she managed to do that he had collapsed. She kneeled next to him and looked over his pale face._

_“Hey. Darling. You all right? What’s going on?”_

_He looked up at her and focused his eyes for a few seconds._

_“I’m Tony Stark.”_

_Then he passed out._


	9. Wanda Apologizes

Wanda was shaking. Her fingers were moving just like Tony’s had in the clip. Sam stood up and went over to her.

“Wanda? Are you alright?”

She looked up and there were tears in her eyes.

“I… I am the person that they gave it to. Stark’s powers. They waited all that time from when he was a child. It was never about someone who would serve Hydra. They knew I hated Stark. They wanted him to feel the pain of having his own power turned against him.”

She looked around. Her eyes widened when she saw the way Bucky was staring at her. If looks could kill…

“Bucky… Winter… I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and his eyes softened.

“Damn. No kid. It’s not that. I was thinking about Pierce. It’s not your fault that Hydra is so ruthless.”

She looked down onto her hands. Many thoughts were flying through her head. At the same time Steve sat a bit straighter and asked:

“Why did Tony work with Hydra? He wasn’t brainwashed or anything.”

And that seemed to be the last drop for Rhodey. He stood up quickly and went over to Steve swaying a bit on the way. Vision got up from his seat but didn’t move from his spot. Rhodey pointed a finger at Steve and said angrily:

“Listen now Rogers. Howard abused Tony from the point when he turned two. Now, Tony never told me that he was a mutant. Just that Howard was a drunk. Tony got taken away by the person he begun to treat like a father. He loved Winter more than he ever loved Howard. Winter was taken away from him and he turned to the only people who didn’t think he was a freak. The only people who he had learned to trust back then. And I’ll tell you that it was hard to get his trust already then. So leave your stupid comments to yourself or I will personally throw you out of the tower.”

Steve looked ashamed for a second but then he shrugged and turned his eyes towards a shaking Wanda. She slowly looked around and, when Sam, Rhodey and Vision sat down, she got up.

“I owe you all an apology. I didn’t realize until now that my behavior was bad and that I didn’t follow any logic. I… I am sorry for the part I took in this war and I… I think I understand why Stark… Tony, did what he did. He locked me in my room but now I understand that he was really trying to protect me since he knew how the world treated people like me and him. And I didn’t even listen to him or really let him explain. And there are a few more things I would like to apologize about. First of all I’m sorry for showing you those images. I didn’t realize Ultron’s full plan back then and I acted out of fear. Now it is in no way excusing what I did but I’m sorry. Especially about what I showed Tony and you Natasha. I figured you were the strongest ones, the ones that would do anything to keep the team together but at the same time you were the ones with the biggest weak spots. And I’m sorry Bruce for the way I controlled you while you were the Hulk. Tony is right. You would never hurt anyone intentionally. It was all on me. I never owned up to this before because I was still believing that some of the Avengers were worth less than the others. I’m sorry Vision for fighting you when all you tried to do was protect me. I understand that my crimes may not be so easily apologized but I swear that I will do anything I can to make things better.”

Everyone was staring at her. To everyone’s surprise the first one to speak was Bruce.

“I know you were controlling me back then. I realized it later. When I thought back on how the Other Guy had been calmer before that accident. And I forgive you Wanda. You realize that you did something wrong and that’s the most important thing. That’s what Tony taught me. He said that he realized that making weapons was wrong and as soon as he realized it he could start to fix it. So I forgive you.”

Rhodey shrugged.

“Hey, you didn’t really do anything against me in that sense and as long as you won’t hurt Tony I’m all fine with you.”

Next was Natasha who simply nodded and gave Wanda a small smile.

“I am with Rhodey on this one.”

Clint and Sam didn’t feel like they needed to say anything. They had been on the same side as Wanda. Steve was watching her with curiosity. Almost as if this was the first time he noticed her. Then Pepper stood up, went over to the girl and hugged her.

“Who knows? Maybe I could learn to like you after all.”

Wanda hugged her back with almost desperation.

“I’m sorry Pepper. I didn’t realize…”

Pepper nodded. Then she let go and they returned to their seats. Wanda glanced over to Vision. He was the only one who hasn't spoken. Seeing that Clint smirked and asked:

“Hey Viz. You okey?”

Vision slowly turned his head towards Wanda and, ignoring Clint, said:

“I’m sorry too Wanda. For not explaining things a bit more when I had the chance. I would like for us to be friends again if you can promise me to not hurt Mr. Stark again.”

She nodded quickly.  And suddenly it felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her. She felt that the people around her were now happy that she was there instead of simply accepting her because they had too. Then an idea struck her and she looked over to Pepper.

“Did Tony know? That I was created from his power.”

Pepper looked up to the ceiling and said quietly:

“Would you mind playing the clip from shortly after the Ultron fight Friday?”

Instead of answering the AI simply turned it on.

_Pepper was standing in Tony’s workshop with her hands on her hips. He was sitting on a chair and looked exhausted._

_“I don’t understand you Tony! She goes around and messes with peoples brains, she makes Bruce destroy a city, she sides with Ultron, she gives no damn about you and acts like a brat! How can you be so nice to her?! And how can you ask me to be nice to her?!”_

_Tony sighed._

_“Pep I… You know what? Screw it. You deserve the whole truth after everything I’ve put you through. You know that I’m a mutant right?”_

_She nodded but kept her mouth shut. She knew how hard it was to get Tony to talk about himself. She didn’t want to ruin the moment._

_“Well my mutation, my power, was very much like Wanda’s. I could levitate things. Her eyes go red when she uses it. Mine went blue. That was the reason why Howard abused me. Then Winter got me and I could use it however I wanted. But then Hydra happened and they trained me to use my powers against others. I learned how to torture people. All because I wanted someone to be proud of me for who I was. And because I wanted to revenge Winter. But then Hydra took my powers away and threw me out. I wasn’t needed. They told me that they would use the powers they took from me to create someone who would serve them. And now, so many years later, we suddenly find a girl in a Hydra base. And she can do exactly what I could do back then. And surprise surprise. The girl hates anything that has to do with the name of Stark. You know that I don’t believe in coincidences. Wanda has the powers that were taken from me. She had a part of me inside her. I mean, the kid could be my daughter!”_

_He laughed a short laugh and then continued in a sadder voice:_

_“I know… I see what I have become because of people turning away from me when they found out what I could do. I know how it feels when it seems like the whole world is against you. I know what I am. I know how badly my story will end. I don’t want the same fate for her.”_

_Pepper slowly moved forward and hugged him. After a few seconds of hesitation he hugged her back. While holding him tight she nodded._

_“Fine. I’ll do it for you Tony. But don’t you dare thinking ever again that your story will end badly. You have friends around you. Me, Rhodey, Natasha, Clint, Steve, Bruce, Thor. I’m pretty sure that new guy, Wilson, is nice enough not to judge you by the fact that you literally fell asleep naked in the White House.”_

_Tony pulled back quickly taking the chance she gave him to get out of the heavy topic._

_“That was one time Pepper. One time. And it was still not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.”_

_She smiled warmy at him and he smiled back._

_“Thanks Pep. It really means much.”_

_Then he put on a mock seroious face and said:_

_“Miss Potts if you wouldn’t mind taking my daughter on a shopping round. You know where all my cards are. Just use one of them.”_

_She nodded._

_“Will that be all Mr. Stark?”_

_He grinned back at her._

_“That will be all Miss Potts.”_

_She went out followed by his laugh._

Wanda was once again shocked.

“I tried to, more or less, kill him. And he thinks of me as of his daughter?”

Both Pepper and Rhodey nodded. He was faster to start speaking.

“Tony has always dreamt of having children. But due to an… experiment… that Howard did on him he couldn’t have his own children.”

Bucky, who had been once again deep in his thoughts, snapped his head towards Rhodey and asked sharply:

“What experiment?”

For a few seconds Rhodey looked incredibly uncomfortable but then he looked towards Bucky and answered:

“Howard didn’t think that Tony’s genes were good enough to keep the Stark line alive. So he castrated him. Tony was three.”

Everyone paled. Except for Vision and Pepper who knew about it. Suddenly Bucky got up, went over to a wall and put his metal arm through it. Wanda closed her eyes. If Tony Stark ever woke up from the coma she would do anything she could to act like the daughter he wanted to have. 


	10. Peggy and Ana

Clint was the first one to speak. 

“But… How? I mean… Tony said it himself. Genius, billionaire, PLAYBOY, philanthropist. I  mean… Wouldn’t someone have… I don’t know. Found out?” 

Rhodey cast a glance to Bucky who was still standing with his arm in the wall. Natasha slowly got up and went over to him. 

“Barnes?” 

When she got no reaction she tried a different approach. 

“Winter?” 

He slowly pulled his arm from the wall and turned towards her. His eyes were closed but everyone could see the pain on his face. Rhodey looked back to Clint and answered:

“Howard was a sick bastard. He created some kind of liquid. Chemical. It… This is how Tony explained it to me. Howard injected him with it and it felt as if he was on fire. It happened around twelve times. Later Tony found out how it all works out. He can get hard but his semen contains no sperm. Like at all. And it’s not azoospermia. That was the first thing he thought of. But azoospermia can be cured. The thing in Tony is not allowing any treatment. Howard made sure it would be permanent.” 

Bucky was shaking while Wanda looked a little green. So did Bruce but for some completely different reason. Pepper placed her hand on his shoulder. 

“Bruce? You okey? Do you wanna go?” 

He shook his head and took a few calming breaths. 

“I’ll be fine. The Other Guy is just upset. Wanda? You don’t look good girl.” 

She swallowed and leaned a bit towards Clint. 

“I… I’m fine.” 

He turned to Bucky.

“Barnes? Why don’t you come here and sit down?”

Natasha slowly put a hand on Bucky’s back and led him to the couch. He fell onto it next to Pepper who immediately put an arm around his shoulders. He was still keeping his eyes closed but at least the shaking had stopped. Natasha nodded towards Pepper and then went over to sit in her old place. Steve was pale. 

“Howard… Castrated him?” 

Sam was looking sick but he forced himself to not throw up. After all he had heard much in his days. But he had to admit. This way definitely in the top of all bad things. Especially since Tony was just a little child back then. He couldn’t even  imagine what Bucky was going through. He had acted as Tony’s father for four years and taken care of him even when he was the Winter Soldier. Rhodey looked over to Steve. 

“Yes. He did. You still think he was so wonderful?” 

It took some time but in the end Steve slowly shook his head. 

“Howard was a good man. But apparently that was when I knew him. He… changed. Right?” 

Natasha nodded. 

“Nothing in his life seemed to be working out. Peggy didn’t want to marry him so he married Maria because he needed an heir. He was failing in his tries to find you. He got dragged into Hydra and they wanted more and more. His son turned out to be a mutant. Peggy built SHIELD. She was onto Howard’s work for Hydra. Stark Industries weren’t going so well since Howard was more interested in alcohol than business. Obadiah Stane was practically the one holding the company up. Everything was falling apart for him. He turned to the alcohol and abuse. All of this doesn’t in any way excuse what he did to Tony but it may give you a better understanding in how and why he changed.” 

Steve was sitting completely still. He had trouble believing that Howard would ever do anything like that. But if what Natasha said was true then the Howard he knew and the Howard Tony grew up with were two totally different people. He looked over to Bucky. So much had happened. When he looked towards the others again he noticed that everyone was staring at him. Wanda, Sam and Bucky had apologized. Clint haven’t said anything but somehow it looked almost as if he had been accepted back immediately. Bruce was very clearly on Tony’s side. 

“But why did he work for Hydra? I mean Howard. Not Tony.” 

He added the last when Bucky’s furious eyes looked up at him. Once again Natasha provided him the answers. 

“From what I understood from Peggy’s old files on Howard he chose to work for Hydra because they were trying to create a new super soldier. What he didn’t know was that the new soldier would be Bucky. And when he found out he couldn’t back out. He became fascinated with their work. Like many other Hydra agents were.” 

Steve simply nodded. He couldn’t apologize. He still believed that he was right about the Accords. But he could understand some of the things Tony did a bit better now. Natasha must’ve understood that because she turned from him to Bucky and asked:

“You okey to watch more Bu… Winter? Or do you need a pause?” 

He shook his head. 

“Keep going. And I won’t hit you if you call me Bucky. It’s just that I still have trouble separating on past and present. And I’ve been Winter longer time than I’ve been Bucky. So in worst case I simply won’t respond.”

She nodded and Friday played the next clip. 

_ Tony was around twelve now. He was sitting curled up on a sofa. His fingers were moving without him realizing it and he was staring at the wall. In the kitchen Peggy and a woman with long red hair were talking quietly while watching the boy at the same time.  _

_ “It’s been two years since we found him Peggy. And all he does is stare at the walls.” _

_ Peggy looked over to her.  _

_ “Well, at least he’s eating as he should.” _

_ “Only when I tell him to. Listen Peggy. I hate to say this but maybe we should contact Obadiah Stane. He never seemed to have trouble with Tony’s powers so maybe he will be able to get through to him.”  _

_ Peggy snorted.  _

_ “Tony hasn’t spoken in two years Ana. And he trusts us. You really think that he will speak to Stane who was so close to Howard?” _

_ Ana raised her hands in surrender.  _

_ “I just thought that he maybe could get through to Tony since he always could get through to Howard. At least that’s what Edwin always said about him.”  _

_ Peggy looked back to Tony who was still staring at the wall. Then she turned back to Ana and said: _

_ “Fine. I’ll contact him and explain everything.” _

_ Ana smiled.  _

Pepper was looking furious. 

“Obadiah! How can contacting Obadiah help them? He is a sick person!”

Natasha looked over to her. Pepper had taken her arm from around Bucky’s shoulders and was sending murderous looks towards the screen. The spy decided that she had to speak up. 

“I get why you are so upset Pepper but you have to see it from their perspective. Tony had been mute for two years. Neither Peggy or Ana could get through to him. Now Obadiah had been close to Howard but he never really agreed with how Howard was treating Tony back then. Obadiah had dealt with a drunk and furious Howard more than once. The chance that he could get through to Tony is actually pretty big. If anyone, he will know how to get Tony to talk. However good intentions Peggy and Ana had they didn’t know Tony that way. Of course Ana knew Tony from the days when she was in the house once a week. Peggy was working almost all the time with building SHIELD. That left her very little time to actually get to be there for Tony. Of course he loved her. She was his aunt Peggy. But she didn’t know him that well. Now Obadiah was there very often. And even if he never stopped Howard from abusing Tony he was always there to pick up the pieces when Howard had left. He was actually Tony’s godfather.” 

Everyone was staring at her. Clint pointed a finger at her and asked with hurt in his voice:

“Where did you read that and why was I never shown that file?”

She smirked. 

“Peggy Carter’s personal files. I had to read them before going undercover at Stark Industries.” 

Then she looked back to Pepper who had calmed down a bit. 

“You understand now? They understood that the only person who could maybe get Tony to talk again was Obadiah. Peggy never liked him and you must’ve noticed that she was not happy with the idea to contact him.” 

Pepper nodded and leaned back. Bruce reached out and took her hand. She looked over to him and smiled. Bucky took a deep breath. 

“Next one please Friday.”


	11. Obadiah

The screen became blurred for a second and then it fired up again.

_It was the same house. Peggy, Ana and Tony were sitting in the living room. The women were talking about a book and the boy was once again staring at the wall. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Ana stood up and said:_

_“I’ll get it.”_

_She came back a few minutes later with a bald man. He was carrying a big box that he put down on the couch next to Tony. Then he kneeled in front of the boy and put himself in his view. Tony seemed to recognize him because his eyes focused on the man’s face._

_“Hey Tony. I heard you got yourself in trouble a while ago.”_

_Tony nodded._

_“You wanna talk about it?”_

_A frantic head shaking. The man raised his hands up._

_“Hey. It’s all fine. You know you are safe now right?”_

_A slight hesitation but then Tony nodded slowly. Peggy and Ana were completely still. They seemed surprised that the man had so good communication with Tony. Meanwhile the man glanced down to the boy’s hands._

_“You lost it?”_

_A small nod. The man sighed. Then he reached over to the box and opened it. Inside were metal parts, tools, cables, lights and much more. Tony’s head turned so that he could see the inside of the box. A small flicker of something like happiness flashed in his eyes but it disappeared as soon as it appeared. He looked back to the man who was watching him._

_“You know I thought that you might want to do something to keep your mind and hands occupied. You could build something. If you want.”_

_It was quiet for almost five minutes. Under that time Tony was looking back and forth between the man and the box. In the end he seemed to make a decision because he reached over to the box and dumped all of the things on the carpet. Then he slid down from the couch and sat down in between the metals. He took a deep breath and lifted up one of the pieces. Then he slowly looked over to the man and opened his mouth. He seemed to have trouble getting the sound out but after a few tries he managed to rasp out:_

_“Thanks Obie.”_

_The man ruffled his hair and stood up._

_“I’ll go to the kitchen to get some coffee with Miss Carter and Mrs. Jarvis. If you need anything just come there and tell me all right?”_

_Tony nodded but he seemed to not pay that much attention to the man anymore. He was looking around to find some tool. Peggy, Ana and Obadiah went out and into the kitchen. As soon as they got there Ana turned to the man._

_“How did you do that? He has been living here for two years and neither me or Peggy has gotten any reaction out of him. And now suddenly he even speaks.”_

_Obadiah smiled._

_“You seem to forget Mrs. Jarvis that I knew Howard. And if he was upset all you had to do was to give him something to do and he would forget what happened. Tony was much the same. On the days when Howard was not home he would get something from Howard’s workshop and tinker with that. It is his defense mechanism. He locks himself into himself and tinkers. But if he tinkers he sometimes forgets about the world and it is easier to reach him then.”_

_Before they managed to respond the door opened and Tony went in. He headed straight to Obadiah and said slowly:_

_“I don’t have enough tools.”_

_Obadiah looked over to Ana who seemed to understand immediately. She quickly smiled towards Tony and said:_

_“Well, I don’t use the basement. It was never used. We could put up a nice workshop down there.”_

_Tony turned to her with big eyes. But he didn’t say anything. Obadiah smiled to Ana and then turned towards Tony again._

_“Why don’t we do it this way. You and Mrs. Jarvis go down there and prepare some furniture and so on. Meanwhile me and Miss Carter will go and get more tools and materials for you. What do you think?”_

_Tony nodded quickly. It was evident from his face that he had not expected to get a whole basement to change into a workshop. Obadiah stood up._

_“All right then. We better get going then. Do you want me to buy you some food while we are out there Mrs. Jarvis?”_

_Ana quickly shook her head._

_“I’ll cook something later. What would you like to eat Tony?”_

_He glanced towards the wall but then seemed to realize what he was doing because he looked over to Ana and asked slowly:_

_“Can you do pizza Ana?”_

_It was obvious that he had trouble with getting the sound out but otherwise he seemed to be feeling a bit more comfortable. Obadiah smiled towards him. Then he ruffled the boy’s hair again and headed towards the exit. Ana quickly ran after him and said:_

_“You are welcome to stay for some time Mr. Stane. I see that Tony likes you very much and I think that your presence will help him get better.”_

_He smiled at her again._

_“I would be honoured to stay here Mrs. Jarvis.”_

_Ana rolled her eyes._

_“Please. Call me Ana. Mrs. Jarvis sounds so damn formal.”_

_“Obadiah then.”_

_She smiled. It seemed that she was very pleased with how things were going. That was when Peggy and Tony came out to the hall. Peggy put on a jacket and looked around for her shoes. Tony stretched his hand out towards them, almost as if he wanted to use his powers. Then he froze for a second and quickly pulled his hand back. Peggy acted as if she wanted to go over to him but catched Obadiah shaking his head so she stepped towards her shoes and put them on. Then she turned towards Tony again._

_“We’ll be back soon darling. Good luck with the basement.”_

_He looked towards her and then his eyes moved towards the side to fix themselves on the wall. But once again he seemed to realize what he was doing because he turned towards Ana. She smiled while she closed the door behind Peggy and Obadiah._

_“So downstairs now. We should have some old sofa down there that we could put in your workshop. And some tables. The things we don’t need we’ll just put next to the stairs and Obadiah will help us to get it up and out of the house if it’s not needed at all.”_

_Tony nodded and they headed towards the door to the basement._

Bruce was smiling.

“I’m not surprised that he was so happy to get his own workshop. I mean, Tony is like a child before Christmas when he is in the workshop.”

Bucky nodded.

“Yeah. I remember when he finally felt comfortable enough to get out of our room. He was in the laboratories all the time. Pointing out every little wrong that those scientists did. And he never let anyone close to my arm. He said that they would screw it up because they were all idiots. Drove some of them crazy. A few actually had to be moved to a different base because they couldn’t functionate with Jamie in the same place. It was quite fun to watch. Him bossing them around since they never could say anything against him. He had my protection and was Pierce’s favorite.”

Wanda was looking down at her hands and moving them the same way Tony had done in the clip. Then she looked up and asked:

“Do you think that they took all of it? I mean… Maybe he still has some left. Maybe he can somehow reach it again. In some way.”

Bucky turned to her with hope in his eyes.

“You think that is possible?”

She shrugged.

“After I was injected with this I kept using it and it kinda replaced itself all the time so that it never ends. Maybe Tony’s power is still there but he is so used to not using it anymore that he has repressed it without realizing it. Maybe there is a way to unlock it.”


	12. The Attack

Vision slowly shook his head. 

“I would not be so sure about that. After Mr. Stark created Jarvis they tried together to find out a way to get it back. And even when Mr. Stark had given up hope Jarvis kept running scan after scan. He thought of every theory and possibility of getting the powers back. He never managed to come up with anything.” 

But Wanda simply smiled. 

“Jarvis didn’t have one thing back then to make his tests complete.” 

For a second Vision looked almost hurt and Clint had to stop himself from laughing at the face the android made. But he was composed a second later when he asked:

“And what would that be?” 

“Me.” 

Everyone looked at her not really understanding. The first one to catch on to what she meant was Bruce. 

“That could actually work. We wouldn’t have to take all of it. Maybe just half. So that both of you can regenerate it. If you’re up for that of course.”

Wanda nodded. 

“I want to do that. For him.” 

Sam put both his hands up to get the attention to him when Clint suddenly realized something. 

“GUYS! Where is T’Challa?!” 

Vision’s eyes widened and he quickly phased right through the floor. Bruce and Pepper flew up and rushed over to the elevator. Natasha stood up and gave out quick orders.

“Clint, Sam take the roof. See if his plane is still there. Rhodey, Wanda. You two take the back entrance. Steve and Winter. You follow me to the workshop. Friday! How did he manage to sneak out?” 

While Wanda and Rhodey rushed over to the elevator that was already waiting open for them, Clint took out a gun and shot upwards. A vent cover crashed onto the floor and Clint jumped up into the vent.

“Fastest way up.” 

Sam nodded and followed him. Natasha, Bucky and Steve were already in the third elevator when Friday answered. 

“It must’ve been when I exploded those lights. I put a bit too much energy into that. He must’ve slipped out then. I am running scans now to find him.” 

“NO!” 

Silence followed Natashas command. She looked towards one of the cameras and said quickly:

“We’ll find him. Put all your focus on guarding Tony. Has Bruce and Pepper gotten there yet?”

“Yes. They and Vision are currently checking over Boss health status. I’m putting a lockdown around the medical area. No one gets in or out.” 

Natasha nodded. 

“Just tell Bruce about it. We don’t want him to accidentally electrify himself and Hulk out next to Tony and Pepper.” 

“Copy that.” 

The elevator stopped but the door didn’t open. Natasha turned towards the two men and said:

“Steve. You kinda know the layout of this workshop. Tony hasn’t changed much from when you lived here. On the wall to the right hangs your shield. If we are attacked me and Winter will keep them away from you until you grab it. The security system around it is designed to allow only you and Tony to take it. Winter. You have never been in Tony’s workshop. If we are attacked in there you need to make sure you are watching not only the enemies but also where you step. Tony has a habit of throwing things literally everywhere. And…” 

Bucky put a hand up. 

“I know Natasha. I lived with Jamie for four years.” 

She nodded. There was no time to argue now. She pulled her gun out and then opened a small hidden opening in the elevator wall and took out another gun from there. She tossed it over to Bucky who caught it with his flesh arm. They nodded to each other and then the doors slid open. Natasha moved slowly along the glass wall looking around in the workshop on the other side. Bucky followed her and Steve went last. He looked through the glass and noticed the shield hanging on one of the walls. Natasha creeped towards the door and stretched her arm out to punch in the code when something exploded on the other side of the glass. They could almost see the shock wave moving towards them. But when it got to the glass it stopped. The wall rattled but held. The three heroes threw themselves in behind one of the solid walls. Bucky turned towards Natasha with surprise in his eyes.

“How did that glass stand it? That shock wave should have taken that glass out in seconds.”

“Tony reinforced it after it shattered when he tested the repulsors. It’s supposed to stand a blast from them. Steve does Clint have a comm?” 

Steve shook his head. 

“Damn it.” 

She took out a small device from her pocket and talked into it. 

“Clint? Clint? Do you copy?” 

It took a few seconds under which Bucky kept a lookout towards the door to the workshop and Steve kept an eye on the elevator. But then Clint’s voice could be heard from the device.

“Nat? Thank God I kept this thing! The roof is clear. The plane is still there. No one is in it.” 

At that same second he said that another explosion could be heard. Once again the glass rattled but held. Natasha was thankful for Tony’s genius. 

“Nat? Nat?! Was that an explosion? Where are you?” 

“Outside the workshop. Someone is blowing something up there. Tony’s reinforced glass is keeping us away from the shock waves but we need to get in there. Can you and Sam give us a few seconds?” 

After a moment they could hear Clint’s voice again. 

“I’m on my way. Something is happening near the back door. Sam put on the wings and flew down there. Did Tony lock the vents over the shop?” 

Natasha shook her head as another explosion could be heard. 

“No. He actually liked it when you dropped by. Quite literally.” 

Clint’s smile was heard in his next sentence. 

“Old Shellhead. Okey. I’m over the workshop now. There seems to be some kind of machine here that makes shock waves go across the workshop and towards the glass. It seems to have some kind of trigger. I think it is supposed to keep you away from Cap’s shield. You must’ve triggered it in some way. Give me a second. I need to see where the blasts go.” 

They all waited in silence as both Natasha, Clint and Steve processed what Clint had just said. They remembered the good old times when they would face something mechanical on a mission and after just a few seconds Tony would be able to understand and disarm it even when the suit was broken. The next blast hit with much more force. Natasha smirked when the glass once again held. Whoever was behind it underestimated Tony Stark. Then another explosion and when they looked into the workshop they could see a machine on fire. Clint was dropping out of a vent. He waved them forward and they went over to the door and, when Natasha got it opened, walked in. Steve headed straight towards the wall where his shield was and took it down. He had to admit he had missed it. Natasha and Bucky went over to the machine with their guns raised. Clint smiled towards them. 

“Calm down guys. It’s dead. But if you don’t need anything more from here we better get to the back door. It looked pretty bad back there. Some kind of soldiers. Don’t know where from. Most probably Hydra. Or maybe Ross found out we are here.” 

Natasha sighed. 

“Damn it. Did you see T’Challa anywhere?” 

Clint shook his head. 

“But, and you won’t believe it, I saw a uniform with Hydra sign on it in the plane.” 

Suddenly Steve facepalmed. 

“Did any of you two listen to him speaking on the phone in the plane?” 

Clint shook his head and muttered something about losing in chess but Bucky on the other side quickly nodded. 

“I thought I was the only one to notice. His Wakandian sounded almost as if he had a german accent.” 

Hearing that Natasha rushed over to one of the black screens. 

“Friday.” 

The screen lit up and Natasha started to quickly type something in. After a few seconds an image of the inside of the plane appeared. The other three realized that it was footage from their flight to the Tower. They all moved closer to listen. 


	13. Steve Realizes Something Important

On the screen T’Challa was standing and talking on the phone while everyone was minding their own business. Natasha typed in some codes and T’Challa’s voice became much stronger than the others. Then she typed in ‘TRANSLATE’ and rewinded it to the beginning. A text appeared on the bottom of the screen and the four of them felt their blood freeze. 

“Yes I know what to do. I’ll have to make sure none of them notices when I get away. No there is no chance on that. He really wasn’t the one that contacted them. But we’ll need to be careful. If he kept the shield it could get dangerous. We’ll have to make sure neither he or his friend can get to the suits. And when they are all dead we’ll be able to get both him and the soldier back. What? Yes I know that he is useless without his powers but with a little brainwashing he should be tamed to be our mechanic. Or maybe even fly around in the suit for us. I’ll see what can be done. Yes. Yes of course. No. Damn, I really need to get this done today. This hologram mask is making me crazy. What? Yes. I understand. Hail… Oh right.”

The call ended then and T’Challa, or rather the person who was impersonating him, went over to sit next to Steve. The screen went black and Natasha slammed her hand onto the table. 

“They have him somewhere. A Hydra base. The Raft if they are working with Ross. We need Tony on this one. Damn it! Why couldn’t you just stop for a few seconds and listen to what Tony had to say Rogers?! We wouldn’t be in this situation right now! With the Tower under attack and Tony in coma!” 

Clint stopped her before she could attack Steve. 

“Nat. Natasha. Calm down. This is what they hope for. That we will all go against each other again. That we won’t be able to work together to save the tower and Tony. Do you want to prove them right?” 

It actually looked as if she didn’t care about the fact that she would prove them right. Natasha had had enough of people destroying her family all the time. Then Clint moved in front of her. 

“Listen Natasha. They want to split us up. We need to regroup. Wanda, Rhodey and Sam are fighting downstairs. Who knows how long they can keep it up. If something happens in Tony’s room and Bruce Hulks out Vision won’t be able to keep him away from Tony and Pepper long enough. And I know Bruce has incredible self control but the Hulk could hurt Tony or Pepper by accident. We need to get back there.” 

Natasha closed her eyes. She knew Clint was right. She needed to pull herself together. She had gotten too emotional ever since Tony fell into that coma. She needed to let go of Natasha Romanoff for a while longer. When she opened her eyes there was a cold look in them. Clint let her go. The Black Widow was back. She grabbed the gun she had put away and headed towards the door. The three men followed her. 

“Friday?” 

“Yes Natasha?” 

“Inform Bruce that he will be needed on the common floor. Tell him that the Hulk may be needed. Leave only Vision with Tony and Pepper. In worst case Dummy can get in a few hits with the extinguisher before we get there. And Pepper knows how to shoot. How is it looking for the ones on the ground floor?” 

“They are retreating into the elevator since there are too many enemies.” 

Natasha nodded as they stepped into the elevator. 

“Take them and us to the common area. Lock every other floor. Make sure that those bastards that attacked us have no other choice but to head to us.” 

“Sure thing.” 

A few seconds later they stepped out of their elevator at the same time that Bruce stepped out of his. He went over to them and they all noticed that his eyes were fully green. 

“What’s going on?” 

But Natasha simply shook her head. A minute later the third elevator opened and Wanda stepped out with glowing hands. Behind her went Sam. His clothes were wrinkled and the wings were dragging behind him but otherwise he looked okey. Just as Clint was going to ask about Rhodey the window opened and the War Machine flew in. His visor was up as soon as he landed. 

“What’s going on?” 

Bruce nodded. 

“My question exactly.” 

Natasha looked around one more time before she explained. 

“The T’Challa that arrived today is not real. It is a Hydra agent with a hologram mask on. Just like the one I wore once. They are more or less impossible to see through. Maybe Tony’s armour could but I’m not sure. Either way. T’Challa is most probably kept imprisoned somewhere. These agents are here for two people. Tony and Winter. We need to make sure they understand that we are not to be messed with. We may not be a team anymore but I believe we should be able to pull it together one more time.” 

Everyone nodded. And then Wanda spoke up. 

“We are not a team. You are right Natasha. We are not. But we are something bigger than that. Something that can never be changed. We are all a family. A dysfunctional family of people who no one else would accept into their home. You, Tony, Steve, Clint and doctor Banner created this family when you created the Avengers. Then you accepted me and Pietro. You all mourned Pietro together with me. Then you took in  Rhodes, Viz and Sam. We might have fought before. Some of us have said hurtful things. But I think it’s all part of how a family works. Right?”

Sam felt thankful that the girl had said it. He saw how some of the people’s faces lit up a bit. He took a deep breath and said:

“Kid’s right. Tony would want us to stick together. When he talked to me on the Raft he asked me to take everyone with me later. I didn’t quite get it back then. But now I do. He wanted us to take Nat, Viz and Rhodey with us when we left. Because he didn’t want the family to split up even more.” 

They all nodded again. And suddenly Steve understood. Tony had never tried to capture Bucky or force them to sign the Accords. Tony had simply tried to keep his family together. And Steve had destroyed it. Rhodey had said that Tony has trust issues. Well, Steve figured that he had blown every chance of Tony ever trusting him. An every little ounce of trust that had been between them was most probably gone. Steve wanted to apologize but he realized that this was a really bad time. So he simply nodded again. At that second Bruce couldn’t hold it anymore. One second he was standing next to Clint and the next Hulk was roaring angrily. Sam and Bucky who had never seen the Hulk face to face were shocked. He was so much bigger than they thought he was. But somehow, and they figured out it was all thanks to Tony, he could stand upright in the room. And then all three elevator doors opened. There were around 15 people in each and Natasha suddenly got a quick flashback from when Tony had redesigned the elevators to fit 20 persons in each. Which was needed after some missions when they all simply collapsed onto the floor with Thor and Steve taking up entirely too much place and Tony always complaining about whatever it was they were facing before. But she quickly pushed those memories away. She had to concentrate. The T’Challa impersonator was among the men. He walked slowly out of the elevator and pulled the mask off. He was a black guy and had a stature very similar to T’Challa. 

“So the Avengers pulled back together. For how long? Who will mess it up this time? The witch? Or the freak?”

Three things happened at the same time. Bucky and Natasha shot the man. His bullet hit the throat, her bullet hit the heart. At the same moment Hulk threw himself towards the agents. The battle was short. The Hulk took out most of them. Bucky, Natasha and Sam got in a few shots. Wanda concentrated on keeping the bullets away from Clint who was in his turn keeping an eye on whether anyone tried to escape. Steve threw his shield in once when one of the agents had pointed at Natasha. Rhodey simply turned on the thrusters and flew right through the agents. When they were all down everyone looked at each other. Bruce slowly begun to shrink back to his normal form. To everyone’s surprise his pants shrunk with him. He noticed their glances and said with a smile:

“Tony’s design.” 

At the same second Vision phased through the floor. 

“Mr. Stark is getting worse. If you are sure about wanting to do this Wanda we’ll need to do it now. It might be the only thing that can save him.” 

Everyone turned towards Wanda.

“What…?” 

But Wanda didn’t let Clint finish. 

“They took the power from Tony through a syringe and injected me with it. Maybe we could take some of the power I have and inject Tony with it. As Bruce said it doesn’t have to be much. But Bruce. If you have to take it all don’t hesitate. He deserves it more than I.” 

Bruce nodded slowly. Natasha nodded too. 

“We’ll find out what happened to T’Challa later. Let’s go save Tony now.”


	14. Tony Wakes Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for just one chapter today but it's past midnight where I live and I haven't really gotten any long sleep lately. I'll try to write and post more tomorrow. Also the chapter today is a bit longer than usual. I'm so thankful that you are all reading my story. Thank you very much!!!

They all got into one elevator and it started immediately. Just a few seconds later the door opened again and they stepped out on the medical floor. Bruce led them to one of the rooms and the door opened as soon as they got close. Wanda, Sam, Bucky, Steve and Clint stopped dead in their tracks. Tony was lying in the bed hooked up to a few different machines. He was pale, almost white. Pepper was holding one of his hands in her both. Bruce and Vision rushed to the machines and started to push different buttons while throwing medical terms between each other. Natasha and Rhodey went over to Pepper. After a few minutes Bruce sighed.

“We can’t stabilize him more than this. Damn! We’ll have to do it now.”

That made Wanda finally move. She went over to the bed and sat down on one of the chairs. Bruce came over with a syringe and the girl rolled her sleeve up.

“You ready?”

She nodded and Bruce stuck the needle in her arm. A red liquid could be seen coming into the syringe but it was clear that it was not blood. Wanda slowly begun to pale. When the syringe was half full Bruce pulled the needle out and quickly turned towards Tony. Vision appeared next to Wanda and gave her a mug with warm coffee. She smiled towards him and quickly drank it. Some of the color slowly came back to her face. Meanwhile Bruce was slowly injecting Tony with the power. Bucky, Clint, Sam and Steve had now moved into the room too and closed the door behind them. Bucky went over to Wanda and put a hand on her shoulder.

“You all right Wanda?”

She nodded. Bruce pulled the needle out of Tony’s arm and kept his eyes on the machines. Everyone else was looking at Tony. Suddenly his face gained color and at the same moment Bruce turned to the others and said:

“He’s stabilizing. It worked.”

Pepper stood up, went over to Bruce and hugged him. He held her tightly and that was when Clint just had to ask.

“Are you guys together?”

Pepper let go of Bruce and nodded softly.

“Yes. We got together some time after Bruce arrived here.”

Steve looked at her in surprise.

“But I thought you and Tony…”

Pepper sighed.

“Me and Tony were never together that way. Yes we kissed but it never went further than that. We were never really in that kind of relationship. And when we decided that we should settle on a brother-sister relationship we were both in on it. Especially since I knew that Tony was in love with someone entirely else.”

Clint choked on air.

“Wha…? Tony is in love? With who?”

Pepper smiled suddenly.

“Well… Tony didn’t really love her that way from the beginning. But he started to love her as time went by. In the end he couldn’t stop talking about her. Of course that idiot never told me about it until we broke up. But after that he couldn’t shut up.”

“Not an idiot Pep.”

Almost everyone jumped and turned towards the bed again. Tony was smiling. His eyes were closed and he asked slowly:

“Before I open my eyes I wanna know one thing. How many people here will try to kill me when I get up?”

They all stilled. Then, before anyone could even move, Bucky stepped a bit closer so that he was now standing directly behind Wanda’s chair and said:

“It’s fine Jamie. No more.”

Tony’s eyes snapped open. Tony’s blue eyes. At the same second Wanda smiled widely.

“It worked!”

Tony looked from Bucky to Wanda.

“What worked?”

Instead of answering Bucky picked up a small pillow and threw it at Tony’s face. It stopped right before it could hit him. He seemed to be so shocked by the fact that he sat up and hit his face on the pillow. Bucky burst out laughing which in its turn shocked all the others. No one had ever heard Bucky laugh and Steve who had grown up with Bucky had not heard him laugh since the Winter Soldier. Tony flicked his wrist and the pillow shot off towards Bucky. The man ducked in the last second. But when he stood up again the pillow came back and hit the back of his head. He stopped laughing and became suddenly very serious.

“Listen Jamie. I need to apologize to you. I shouldn’t have just assumed that you are the bad guy because Steve said that. I should have stopped and listened to what you had to say. I’m ashamed that I didn’t recognize you when I was triggered that one time when we fought. I’m sorry for fighting you in Siberia. And especially for leaving you there. And I’m…”

“If you say that you are sorry for one more thing I will hang you upside down outside the Tower and call the media.”

Tony’s voice was light but when he noticed how serious Bucky was he sighed.

“I mean it Winter. It’s fine. I figured out that you didn’t recognize me. It’s partly my fault. I never told you my real name and Pierce kept it a secret.”

Then he suddenly froze. He must’ve noticed how many people were in the room and thought probably that he had said too much. The world begun to spin and he felt two hands slowly help him to get back to a lying position. The spinning stopped and he noticed that the person who helped him was Wanda. She smiled at him and said carefully:

“It’s okey Tony. Friday got some videos that someone had made magically about your life. She thought it would be good if we saw it. So we sat down to look at it.”

Tony visibly paled and his eyes glowed even more. Wanda took his hands in hers and squeezed them.

“It’s all right. No one blames you for anything.”

Then after a few seconds of silence she added:

“I don’t blame you for anything.”

And that seemed to snap him out of the shock. He looked over to Bucky and then back to Wanda.

“How far did you watch?”

“You were setting up a workshop in Ana’s basement.”

He took a deep breath and then nodded.

“Fine. But no more.”

Then he looked around the room again and seemed to notice Steve for the first time. His eyes widened and he tried to get off the bed. Wanda was almost thrown backwards so Vision moved to the bed and started to talk to Tony in a soothing voice. Bucky looked over to Sam and whispered:

“Take him out of here.”

Sam seemed to understand because he grabbed Steve and, together with Rhodey, quickly led the confused man out of there. Clint got up and left too after whispering to Natasha:

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Pepper went over to Natasha but her sudden movement seemed to rile Tony up even more. He struggled against Vision even more and was whole the time talking quickly.

“You don’t understand J. He will kill me. He hates me. He tried to kill me. Howard said he would. And Howard never lied about things like that. They all want me dead. Clint and Steve and Sam and...”

Bucky moved around Vision and Wanda and sat down on the edge of the bed. He put his metal arm on Tony’s chest but then drew it back in surprise. Tony quieted and froze again. Bucky reached out and pulled the engineer's shirt up. The arc reactor was glowing blue. The exactly same blue that Tony’s eyes were still in. Bucky looked from it to Tony’s face. Wanda was shocked too. Although she knew that Tony had the arc reactor in him she had never seen him without a shirt. Natasha and Bruce understood Bucky’s surprise. Many people didn’t understand that the reactor was so much more than just a battery for the suit.

“James?”

Tony shook his head.

“Another time. Please?”

Bucky nodded and pulled the shirt back down. Then he looked over to Bruce and back to Tony. The engineer seemed to understand because he turned his head and his smile was almost splitting his face a second later.

“Brucie!”

Before he could get up Bruce moved forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m happy to see you too Tony but stay down. You are still weak. You just woke up from a coma. You have to stay in bed and eat. Doctor’s orders.”

Tony grunted but leaned back onto the pillows. He looked over to Natasha and Pepper and frowned.

“You look as a post battle Natasha. Not a domestic Natasha. What’s going on?”

But Natasha simply smiled at him.

“Food is going on Shellhead. Me and Vision are going to go and order something. NOT pizza.”

Tony kept his eyes on her for some more seconds but then seemed to let it go. He raised one eyebrow and whined:

“But pizza is the best comfort food.”

“Yeah. And you most probably won’t be able to keep it down after not eating solid food for so long.”

She stood up and gave Tony a kiss on the cheek before she left the room with Vision and Pepper. Bruce checked some of the machines and Tony rolled his eyes.

“You know I will unhook myself from all of this as soon as you leave right?”

Bruce smirked and turned towards Bucky.

“Barnes. Would you mind keeping an eye on Tony while I go to see so that Nat doesn’t scare the poor delivery boy to death?”

Bucky simply moved from the bed to one of the chairs while Wanda took a seat on the other side. Tony glared at the three of them and muttered:

“Traitors.”

But he was smiling the next second when he looked at Wanda and said:

“Thank you Wanda. For helping me get it back.”

She smiled back at him.

“You’re welcome Tony. But listen. There is something I want to ask you.”

Bruce went out and closed the door behind him. He didn’t even need to say anything in the elevator. Friday took him immediately to Clint’s old floor. They were all sitting in the living room. Steve looked upset while Natasha tried to explain something to him. When Bruce stepped in she was raising her voice.

“You tried to kill him Rogers! And you think he will accept you back with open arms?!”

Bruce cleared his throat to get their attention. When all heads had turned towards him he said slowly:

“I think I can guess what you were talking about. Tony is scared of Steve. It was actually easy to predict. Tony is already struggling with PTSD, anxiety and a few phobias that I know of. He always blames himself for everything and no one ever does anything to prove him wrong. He blamed himself for the Jericho and Gulmira, for Yinsen, for putting Pepper’s life at risk, for not stopping Vanko earlier, for not realizing Loki’s plan before the Helicarrier blew up, for killing Wanda’s parents, for Pietro, for Sokovia. When you fought him in Siberia he most probably accepted that he would die. You spared him, he got back here. From what I can see he is happy that he has Winter back. So right now we all have a mission that we have to deal with as fast as possible to be able to become a team again and save T’Challa wherever he is. We need to find out which ones of us Tony trusts and is not afraid of. And convince him that the others mean him no harm. For now me, Bucky, Wanda and Natasha are cleared. I’m sorry Pepper but judging by how he seemed to be frightened when you moved we can’t clear you yet.”

He was met with silence and sad faces. A few people kept their heads down. Then Clint looked up with determination in his eyes.

“Tony is a part of this family. And we’ll make him feel that way again.”

Slowly one after one they all nodded. Then Natasha took the leadership in her hands again.

“Right. Sam, Clint. You two go to the roof again. Turn the jet upside down if you have to but find some clues. Steve. You and Vision head up to the common area. See if there is someone there that is able to speak. I don’t think everyone is so gone. Pepper, Rhodey. You two are the most neutral ones here. I need you to go to some shop and buy food. We’ll cook something when you get back. Bruce. You and I have a few calls to make. We’ll need all the help we can get. Bucky and Wanda will keep an eye on Tony for now.”

When everyone left she took out her phone and Bruce moved a bit closer.

“Who are we calling?”

Her grin was scary when she answered:

“Fury.”


	15. Names

The door closed behind Bruce and Tony turned to Wanda. She looked anxious so he smiled at her.

“Go on. Ask.”

Wanda suddenly didn’t feel so sure anymore. She looked down at her feet.

“I… Rhodes talked with us about… Well, you.”

Tony smirked.

“And what did that platypus tell you?”

Wanda felt even more uncomfortable. But she decided that if she had started then she would finish.

“He told us about Howard ca… About you not being able to have children.”

Tony paled. Some of the machines beeped and Bucky quickly looked over to them.

“Jamie. Breathe. Your heart is racing.”

Wanda felt bad for even taking it up. But then she decided that she had to keep talking.

“He told us that you wanted to have children and I… I thought that maybe I… I mean…”

Bucky sighed and said:

“To simplify it all, Wanda is asking if she can call you dad.”

Two pairs of eyes looked over at him. Tony’s confused and Wanda’s thankful. Then Tony looked back to Wanda.

“You want… But… Me?”

It took the girl a few seconds to understand but when she did she felt sadness. Tony Stark didn’t understand why someone would want him as a father.

“Bucky is right. That’s what I wanted to ask but I… I guess I didn’t think you would want me as a daughter after the fight on the airport. I am truly sorry for simply following Steve and not thinking it all through. I understand now that you only tried to protect me because you knew what others can do with people like us. I am so sorry. And I would be honored to be able to call you father. I will understand if you don’t want me to and I can accept that.”

Tony was simply staring at her. Then he slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were brown. And Bucky understood. Tony trusted them. He trusted them enough to let his guard down around them. Tony ‘s hand moved and he placed it on top of Wandas.

“And it would be an honor for me to be able to call you my daughter.”

Then he smirked and added.

“If one more person tries to apologize to me today I will become crazy.”

Wanda cast a worried glance towards Bucky. But Bucky kept his eyes on Tony. It was really sad. That Tony blamed himself for so much that he couldn’t understand why people apologized to him. Wanda seemed to understand that she should drop it because she leaned more comfortably on the chair and asked with a light voice:

“So who is she?”

It took Tony less than a second to understand what she was talking about. He actually blushed at that.

“Well… I guess I could tell you. But you’ll have to promise you won’t tell anyone. And that means you too Winter.”

Bucky faked a hurt expression.

“Me? I would never.”

Tony raised his eyebrows.

“Really Jamie. I won’t.”

Tony looked at him for a while and then he said quietly:

“Nat.”

Both Wanda’s and Bucky’s eyes widened. They seemed shocked. Wanda was the first one to speak.

“I think you have a chance.”

Tony quickly turned towards her.

“What? How do you know?”

Wanda grinned.

“Well first of all I’m a woman.”

Both Tony and Bucky glared at her so she quickly continued.

“And I have noticed that Natasha was not really herself when you were in coma. And the way she was talking about you was too protective for a simple friend.”

A small smile appeared on Tony’s face. He looked over to the machines and his eyes changed to blue. Before they could do anything a blue power flew towards the machines and they all died. Bucky flew up from his chair.

“James!”

But before he could do anything more Tony sat up.

“I’m not going to stay in bed. I’m fine now. I want to move around a bit. To my floor. Shower. Change clothes.”

He had a few seconds staredown with Bucky and then the soldier nodded.

“Fine. But I’m coming with you.”

“Fine.”

Wanda stood up and moved a bit closer to the bed. She bent down and kissed Tony on the cheek.

“I’ll go and tell Nat that she should bring the food up to your room.”

She turned around and left. Tony swung his legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stood up. Bucky was at his side in a moment and helped him gain balance. Very slowly they made their way to the door but before they could leave there was a quiet whirring in the corner. Tony spun around so fast that Bucky lost his grip on him for a second. But by the time he wanted to grab him again Tony was already on the other side of the room using his power as stabilizers. Bucky was struck by how much it resembled how Tony was using the suit’s thrusters to stabilize his flight. And suddenly he understood why Tony had decided on a suit like that. It gave him a replacement for his powers. The way the repulsors fired was just like the way Tony had always fired his powers. Bucky slowly made his way over to where Tony was kneeling next to a big robotic claw. When Bucky looked closer he noticed that the claw moved so that it was resting on Tony’s shoulder. Tony had put one hand on the claw and the other on the base part of the robot. It looked almost as if they were hugging.

“I know boy. I’m sorry. But I’m fine now. I promise.”

Bucky kneeled down next to Tony and had to duck to get away from the claw that tried to hit his head. Tony burst out laughing.

“It’s fine Dummy. This is Winter. I told you about him. He’s a friend.”

“With all due respect boss. Winter did try to kill you and I failed at keeping that footage from the bots.”

Tony looked over to where he knew one of the cameras were.

“He saw that footage? And U and Butterfingers too? Damn. I’m so sorry Dummy.”

He was now talking to the claw again and Bucky had to ask.

“Why are you talking to a machine?”

Tony looked almost hurt.

“Dummy is NOT a simple machine. He is an AI. Artificial intelligence. His name is Dummy. Spelled DUM-E. Dummy. He has a brother. U. Just the letter U. And two sisters. Butterfingers and Friday.”

Bucky tilted his head.

“Where did you get those names?”

Tony’s face lit up with happiness and Bucky wondered if anyone had ever asked him about that.

“Well Dummy was the first one. Obie called me Dummy once. When I created Dummy and told Obie that AI’s were the future. Obie just said: ‘You don’t understand what the world needs you dummy.’ So I called Dummy for Dummy from that moment on. But I didn’t want anyone else to make fun of him so I spelled it DUM-E. U was next. It was almost the same story here. Obie screamed: ‘You should know better!’ I was finishing U then so I named him U and spelled it with just one letter. Butterfingers was next. I was drunk when I created her and I did some bad wiring. She was clumsy and was loosing the grip on things she picked up. So I called her Butterfingers as a joke and it stuck even when she was fixed later. Friday was created on a friday. So that one was easy.”

While he was talking Bucky had reached his metal arm out towards the claw. After a few seconds the claw closed around his hand and shook it lightly. Tony smiled.

“You see. He is nice.”

Bucky wasn’t sure if Tony was talking to him or to the robot so he simply let go of the claw and got up.

“Come on Jamie. You wanted to shower right?”

Tony nodded and slowly stood up, once again using his powers to keep his balance. They made their way to the door with Dummy wheeling behind them. Friday opened the door for them and they stepped out. They had to wait a few seconds for the elevator and when it opened they came face to face with Sam and Clint. Bucky felt Tony tense up next to him and heard Dummy make a small sound when he noticed his creators distress. Clint and Sam became completely still where they were standing. Tony’s eyes were still blue and the power was around him. Bucky moved a bit closer to Tony. Just in case.


	16. The Arc Reactor

Clint kept his eyes on Tony. He was quickly trying to figure out a way to get out of there without scaring Tony when they suddenly heard a whirring sound and Dummy wheeled past Tony and Bucky and doused Clint and Sam with the extinguisher. Sam had managed to put his wings up and shield his face but Clint was less lucky. It took only a few seconds for him to be soaked through. He smiled a bit and said calmly:

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you too Dummy.”

And finally did Tony relax. He smirked towards Clint and whispered while leaning a bit towards Bucky:

“And here we have two wet birds.”

Clint stuck his tongue out and, feeling that the tension had left, joked back.

“Well, at least it’s not green jelly.”

Tony winced.

“Don’t even remind me.”

Sam slowly put his wings down looking around to see if the threat was gone. Just as he thought it was fine, Dummy quickly raised the extinguisher and shot it right at Sam’s face. He spit the foam out and turned to Tony.

“I hope this shit is not poisonous.”

Tony shook his head.

“Calm down. If it was I would have been dead long ago with the amount of times he had tried to put out some invisible fire on me. You won’t die Feathers.”

Clint faked a hurt expression.

“Wasn’t that my nickname?”

Tony was looking smug when he answered:

“Nah. I think Birdbrain is more correct.”

Clint swatted at Tony’s head but the man ducked with more agility than anyone would have expected. Bucky smiled and relaxed. The worst was over. Clint and Sam were clean. It was odd since Sam had been so close to Steve. But Bucky wasn’t going to question that. If Tony felt safe then it was fine.

“Wait. Why aren’t you in bed Tony?”

Tony rolled his eyes.

“I’m fine. Not dying. Could kick your ass any day.”

That made Clint become serious.

“If you pull a stunt like that again I’ll steal all your tools and hide them somewhere. And I’m sure Friday will help me.”

Tony’s head shot up towards one of the cameras. Friday’s voice came out of the speakers.

“Sorry boss but I will help Clint if you try to do it again.”

Tony sighed and Sam felt the need to lighten the mood again.

“Hey Tony. We watched a clip where you talked to Pepper and she said something about you falling asleep naked in the White House. What was that about?”

Bucky shot a thankful smile to Sam when Tony burst out laughing. He swayed and Clint reached out to steady him.

“I… Oh my… She really… Told you. Hahahaha. That was SPECTACULAR!”

Sam smiled.

“How did you manage to do that? I mean, how did you get in there? And, probably more importantly, how did you end up naked?”

Tony laughed even more. He leaned heavily on Clint who was trying to keep a straight face. After a few more seconds of laughing he suddenly gasped and put a hand to his reactor. Clint became immediately serious.

“Tony? You wanna sit down?”

Tony leaned forward a bit and Clint held his waist in a firm grip. Then Tony nodded and the archer helped him to sit down against the wall. Bucky and Sam stood still, not understanding really what was happening. Meanwhile Clint kept his sharp eyes trained on Tony’s face. After a few minutes he seemed to have calmed his breathing. Clint breathed out a sigh of relief. He had never been forced to deal with Tony’s arc reactor problems. Usually either Bruce, Natasha or Pepper had been close by and could deal with it.

“You fine?”

Tony nodded slowly.

“Haven’t laughed like this in a while. Haven’t really had the opportunity lately.”

“How much on a scale of 1 to 10 does it hurt?”

Tony looked up at him.

“Which way?”

“10 is worst.”

Tony closed his eyes for a few seconds and massaged the skin around the reactor. Then he looked back to Clint and answered:

“Around 8.”

Clint paled.

“8?! You were always around 5 or 6 before!”

Tony glared at him.

“Yeah, but before I didn’t have anyone smashing a vibranium shield into the reactor. The socket seems to be fine but I had to change it to an older model for some time before I had the new one ready. I guess I’m just badly bruised up around it. The socket is pushing against the bruises and makes it worse. But it’s getting better now. I just hope I don’t catch a cold before I heal completely. The coughing would make it worse.”

Clint gently squeezed Tony’s shoulder.

“We’ll take care of you. But you should go and shower now. You stink.”

Tony smiled.

“Yeah. We were on our way up to my floor. I need a shower and new clothes. Where were you going?”

Clint glanced up at Sam. But Sam’s face was blank. Tony sensed that something was wrong and looked over to Sam he too. Clint sighed.

“Look Tony. We’ll tell you later. Pepper and Bruce will fix some food so why don’t you go and shower and change your clothes and then me, Sam, Viz, Wanda, Nat and Bruce will come up and eat with you there. And we’ll explain everything then.”

Tony had a confused face expression.

“What about the others?”

Once again Clint looked to the others for help and Bucky took mercy on him. He kneeled in front of Tony and said:

“We won’t force you to be around people you don’t want to be close to Jamie. I told you before. No more.”

For a second Tony looked almost like he didn’t understand but then he closed his eyes and leaned his head on the wall. His voice was soft when he said:

“I doubt Steve will try to kill me now. I just had a flashback. It happens. But I won’t freak out if I am in the same room as he. So you can bring everyone up there.”

Suddenly Sam smirked.

“Yeah. And if Steve tries anything Bucky can just punch him again.”

Tony’s eyes widened as he looked over to Bucky.

“You punched Steve?”

Bucky looked kinda proud of himself when he nodded.

“He was talking shit about you. I shut him up.”

Tony looked at him in wonder. Then he nodded and got up with Bucky’s and Clint’s help. They all got into the elevator together with Dummy. On Tony’s floor Friday stopped the elevator and opened the door. Tony, Bucky and Dummy went out and the door closed again. Sam sighed and turned to Clint.

“Smashing a vibranium shield into his reactor?”

Clint shook his head.

“Damn Steve. We need to get him to tell us what happened in Siberia. Bucky blacked out at one point and when he woke up Tony was on the ground and Steve was helping Bucky get up. Something must’ve happened then.”

They were then quiet all the way up to the roof. When they stepped out they went straight to the jet. Both drew guns as they slowly made their way into the plane. The jet seemed clean but then Clint suddenly made a triumphant sound.

“There is an opening here.”

He had moved some of the boxes in one corner and was kneeling over a closed door in the floor. Sam went over and opened it while Clint kept his gun pointed at it. But it was empty. Clint lowered his gun.

“Damn!”

But Sam leaned down and put his hand into the opening. He smiled and pulled his hand out again holding a black fabric. Under it were Hydra uniforms and guns as well as some other uniforms. On a tag on one of the uniforms they saw one word. Ross.

“I think we have our answer to the question about what happened with T’Challa.”

Clint groaned.

“Ross works with Hydra.”

Sam nodded. There was one question that was bothering him.

“You think T’Challa is held in the Raft? Or some Hydra base?”

Clint scratched his head. He was doing his best to use the logical part of his brain. In the end he answered slowly:

“I would say Hydra base. Ross knows that we are at the Tower if he sent the men here. And he knows that if we are here then Tony will be able to break into Raft without any problems. They are keeping him somewhere where no one will find him.”

But Sam smiled.

“Yeah, maybe. But Tony is not a no one. He will find T’Challa. He is most probably the only one that can.”

When they returned to the elevator Friday suddenly played three screens on one of the walls. On one were Steve and Vision. The second showed Pepper and Rhodey in a kitchen. The last one held Wanda, Natasha and Bruce. Steve spoke up first.

“We have information. Ross is working with Hydra.”

Clint snorted.

“No shit Sherlock. We know that already. Clean up if you are dirty and get to Tony’s floor. We talked with him and he wants us to eat there.”

Pepper smiled.

“We are already on Tony’s floor Clint. We bought some broth for him. He should be able to eat it. We got you McDonald’s. It was next to the store.”

Steve looked down and asked:

“Should I stay downstairs?”

Clint felt glad that Steve had thought of that. Sam looked to the screen where Steve and Vision were and answered:

“You don’t have to. Just don’t go near Tony. Bucky has already warned that he will punch you if you try something. And we will talk about something that Tony told us later.”

That got everyone’s attention. Wanda went closer to the screen.

“About what?”

Sam let irritation seep into his voice when he said:

“About someone SMASHING A VIBRANIUM SHIELD INTO HIS REACTOR.”

Steve visibly paled. Wanda’s eyes flashed red.

“You did WHAT?!”

Everyone jumped at that voice. The camera showing Natasha, Wanda and Bruce moved to the door and there stood a very furious…

“Director Fury!”

Fury marched into the room and glared at something that the others guessed was the screen with Steve on.

“You did WHAT Rogers?!”

Clint turned to Sam and whispered:

“Fury has always had a soft spot for Tony. Steve is in so much trouble now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Write in the comments if you want me to explain the green jelly and the White House in one of the chapters. If you want it I'll write it.   
> Thank you for following this story.


	17. Blue Eyes

Natasha made a small sound in the back of her throat to get Fury’s attention. He turned to her and glared with his one eye.

“What Romanoff?”

Anyone else would have been sent running by the tone of his voice but Natasha stared back.

“Tony is waiting on his floor. There is food there. We’ll deal with Steve later.”

Then she linked her arm with Wanda and dragged the girl towards the elevator. Bruce smiled to Fury and followed the girls. Fury glared at the couch and table almost as if he blamed them for something and then turned around and went into the elevator. But instead of going up to Tony’s floor the elevator went down. The door opened and Steve’s eyes widened when he saw who was inside.

“Director.”

Fury snorted.

“Don’t you director me Rogers.”

Steve slowly went in and put himself between Natasha and the wall staying as far away from Fury as possible. Wanda’s eyes had returned to green when she went into the elevator. She was a bit calmer now. The elevator stopped and opened on Tony’s floor. They all went out and headed to the kitchen. Rhodey, Sam and Clint were standing and talking next to the table while Pepper warmed the food up. When they came in Vision floated through the wall and headed towards Pepper but the redhead put a hand up.

“I’m sorry Vision but I don’t want you to put something odd in the food again.”

Wanda smiled.

“Like that thing you put in that paprikash.”

If Vision could blush he would. He floated over to Bruce and dragged him into a conversation about some science project. Wanda and Natasha sat down at the table with Fury next to them. Steve stood next to the wall. He didn’t feel welcome anymore but didn’t want to drag everyone’s attention by leaving. He put his shield on the floor and noticed right then that Sam and Clint followed every single move he made. So did Natasha but more discreetly. Then the door opened and Tony stepped in with Bucky next to him. He looked much better. His jeans were ripped and the Black Sabbath t’shirt had seen better days but overall he looked clean. His hair was damp and stuck in all possible directions. His eyes were blue but he seemed calm. He stopped when he noticed Fury.

“Nick?”

Fury smirked.

“Surprised Wonderboy?”

Tony was looking at him as if he was trying to judge what what happening. But then he nodded slightly.

“A bit. Didn’t expect you here.”

“And I didn’t expect you to have blue eyes again.”

Tony finally smiled.

“Yeah. A small gift from my daughter.”

Everyone snapped their heads to Wanda. The girl blushed a bit.

“Yeah I kinda asked. Or rather Bucky asked for me. And he said I could call him dad if I wanted. And I want that.”

Then her eyes flashed red and she asked with a sharp tone:

“Problems with that?”

Tony laughed but stopped a second later and put a hand on the reactor. It seemed that it was still hurting when he laughed. So instead he went over to Wanda and ruffled her hair a bit. Everyone but Fury who had not seen the clips was struck by how much it resembled the way Winter used to ruffle Tony’s hair. They understood that it was a way to show affection but Wanda still swatted playfully at Tony’s hands.

“That’s my girl.”

She smiled at him and pulled out the chair next to her. He sat down and Bucky flopped down on the chair next to him. He kept the human arm on the back of Tony’s chair and the metal arm on the table. The message was clear. ‘Touch Tony and you would get hurt.’ Tony visibly relaxed but everyone noticed that he was doing his best to not look over to where Steve was standing. Clint, seeing this, sat down at the table and asked:

“Why do you keep your eyes blue?”

Tony sighed.

“I knew someone would ask. I… I’ve simply not been able to feel this in so many years. I guess I am afraid it will disappear if I let it go even for a few seconds. And as long as my eyes are blue I have a constant connection with my powers. I feel it inside me. In every muscle and every blood drop. Everywhere. I feel more alive than I have since they took it away.”

While he was speaking Sam and Rhodey had gone over to the table and sat down. Sam had pointed the chair next to him while he was looking at Steve and Steve understood. He was being put under surveillance. Vision and Bruce were still standing in the corner. It seemed that they had something very important to discuss. Pepper looked at all the food and the table and was thinking about telling everyone to get up and get their food when a blue glow appeared around the plates and they levitated over to the table and froze in the air. Tony smirked.

“All right. Everyone grab what you want. Brucie, Viz. Food is ready.”

The scientist and the android came over to the table and sat down along with Pepper who was now smiling towards Tony.

“That thing is handy.”

Tony faked a hurt expression.

“Thing. I’m hurt Pep. Right here.”

He pointed at the reactor and Pepper threw him a worried glance. He must have understood what it meant because he smiled and said quickly:

“It’s not that bad anymore Pep. Had a laughing fit before but Birdbrain was there. It’s better now.”

Sam stared at Tony.

“Yeah. About that. Mind telling the White House story now? I’m still curious.”

Tony almost begun to laugh again. He held a hand to the reactor and said with a smirk.

“Sorry Feathers. I’m not sure the reactor will live through it. Maybe some other time.”

Then he became serious.

“What parts did you see?”

They all looked around at each other. In the end almost everyone’s eyes settled at Natasha. She sighed.

“Well. The first one was when Bucky shot that man and you showed your powers in front of Howard the first time. It ended with Jarvis carrying you away from there. Then there was the one where Howard hit you and then ordered you to attack Maria. Then there were some arguments in the group and Bruce asked Friday to play the clip from when we all met the first time on the Helicarrier and everyone was arguing. Oh, and Bruce quoted you.”

Tony looked over to Bruce.

“Really Brucie. Aww. What did you say?”

Bruce looked a bit embarrassed actually.

“Barnes punched Steve and Sam asked him to calm down. And I said: ‘Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?’ That’s all.”

Tony looked proud.

“That was a good one Brucie.”

Natasha made a small sound and continued.

“Well then there was the one where Bucky came to your house and took you to the Hydra base. And you chose the name James Winter. And if you try to steal Wanda’s or Bucky’s fries again I will throw you out of the window. Eat your soup.”

Tony tilted his head and smiled.

“Throwing me out of the window won’t really solve your problem Tasha.”

Almost everyone stilled. No one except for occasionally Clint called her Tasha. Nat was accepted when she understood that sleepy Avengers had trouble pronouncing her whole name. But Tasha had always been off limits. But, to everyone’s surprise, she just smiled at him.

“And why not?”

“Loki tried. And failed.”

A few persons choked on their food.

“Loki what?!”

Tony paled.

“Shit. You were not supposed to find out about that one. Damn it.”

Natasha looked up to the ceiling.

“Friday. Do you have the footage?”

“Fri don’t!”

It was quiet for a few seconds but then a big screen was projected onto one of the walls and the windows dimmed. Tony sighed.

“My kids are rebelling against me.”

Everyone turned so that they saw the screen and Friday played it.


	18. Tony Talks

_Tony was hovering over the Tower and looking down at Loki._

_“Plan B.”_

_A second later Jarvis worried voice could be heard._

_“Sir, the Mark 7 is not ready to deploy.”_

_Tony looked around on the HUD and answered:_

_“Then skip the spinning rims. We’re on the clock.”_

_He landed on the pad and begun to walk. Robotic arms came out and started to take the suit off of him. He kept eye contact with Loki as he headed inside and Loki turned around to walk into the penthouse._

_“Please tell me you’re going to appeal to my humanity.”_

_The sarcasm could be heard in his voice. Tony stopped for a second._

_“Uh, actually I’m going to threaten you.”_

_“You should have left your armor on for that.”_

_He pointed his scepter towards the landing pad. Tony kept going towards the bar as he answered._

_“Yeah. It’s seen a bit of ‘mileage’ and you got the ‘glow-stick of destiny’.”_

_Loki glanced down at the scepter and then back up at Tony. Said man had now gotten behind the bar._

_“Would you like a drink?”_

_Loki smiled at that._

_“Stalling me won’t change anything.”_

_Tony waved his hand but seemed to realize what he was doing and dragged it back quickly. Loki didn’t seem to notice that so Tony said with confidence._

_“No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I’m having one.”_

_Loki turned towards the window while Tony was getting the glass out._

_“The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that.”_

_He turned back to Tony and asked:_

_“What have I to fear?”_

_“The Avengers.”_

_Tony was going to pour some drink in the glass but paused when he noticed that Loki didn’t understand. He rolled his eyes._

_“That’s what we call ourselves. We’re sort of like a team. ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ type thing.”_

_He finally poured the alcohol in the glass but didn’t pick it up. Loki smiled._

_“Yes. I’ve met them.”_

_Tony smiled back._

_“Yeah. Takes us a while to get any traction, I’ll give you that one. But let’s do a head count here. Your brother: the demi-god.”_

_Loki looked away at that and Tony quickly slipped two bracelets on and clicked them shut._

_“The super soldier: a living legend, who kind of lives up to the legend. A man with BREATHTAKING anger management issues. A couple of master assassins. And YOU, big fella.”_

_He pointed at Loki who had smirked at the mention of Bruce._

_“You’ve managed to piss off every single one of them.”_

_“That was the plan.”_

_Tony raised his glass and made a ‘not good’ face._

_“Not the great plan.”_

_He went around the bar and started to walk towards Loki as he continued._

_“When they come, and they WILL, they’ll come for you.”_

_“I have an army.”_

_But Tony didn’t seem bothered by that as he kept going forward._

_“We have a HULK.”_

_Loki pointed the scepter towards the window._

_“I thought the beast had wandered off.”_

_Now Tony seemed irritated._

_“You’re missing the point! There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top!”_

_He stopped next to a small table and continued:_

_“Maybe your army comes. And maybe it’s too much for us. But it’s all on you. Because if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we’ll avenge it!”_

_He drank the last from the glass and put it on the table as Loki started to advance towards him._

_“How will your friends have time for me? When they are so busy fighting you.”_

_He raised the scepter and tapped it on Tony’s chest. A small CLINK could be heard as it connected with the reactor. Tony’s eyes stayed brown. Loki seemed confused. He tried again with the same results._

_“This usually works.”_

_Tony said in a mocking voice._

_“Well, performance issues. It’s not uncommon. One out of five…”_

_He didn’t get to finish because Loki grabbed him and threw him across the room. He landed on the floor and quickly tried to get up._

_“Jarvis. Any time now.”_

_But as soon as he was somewhat upright Loki grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. Tony grabbed Loki’s wrist as the taller man said:_

_“You’ll all fall before me.”_

_Tony managed to get out a strangled:_

_“Deploy. Deploy.”_

_Then Loki threw him towards the window. He managed to turn around in the air and spread his arms to the sides with his palms down. Just a second later something bursted out of the elevator and almost knocked Loki down as it flew after Tony. It scanned him and stopped at the bracelets. When it had attached itself onto the bracelets the suit folded out and closed around Tony. He turned around in the last second before he hit the ground and flew back up to a waiting Loki. As he hovered outside the smashed window Tony’s voice could be heard:_

_“And there is one other person you pissed off! His name is Phil.”_

_And before Loki could lift his scepter, Tony fired a repulsor blast at him knocking him backwards._

The clip ended and everyone was staring at Tony. Clin was the first one to speak.

“Was that a prototype? You went into a battle in a prototype?”

Tony rolled his eyes.

“It wasn’t tested. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t do the work.”

Next was Bruce who, of course, had seen all the problems with the clip.

“Were you 100% sure it would catch you? I mean really 100%? What if something went wrong? And did you know that the Arc Reactor would stop the Tesseract’s power? Or did you simply hope that Loki wouldn’t try to get you over to his side?”

Tony sighed this time.

“Okey. Listen here Bruce. No, I wasn’t sure that the suit was going to catch me. But by talking to Loki I gave the rest of the team some more time to get there since I couldn’t close the portal when I got there. I was fully aware that if something went wrong I could possibly die. I was ready for that. And no, I didn’t know that the reactor would stop the Tesseract. Of course I had thought of the possibility of that since both the Tesseract and the Arc Reactor are creating their own energy. I figured that it would maybe slow down the effects or maybe make them partial. I didn’t know that it was going to stop it. I had special protocols made on my way to the Tower that said that if Loki would manage to get me over to his side, Jarvis would shoot me. That way I would be useless to Loki. So yes, I was aware of all the risks. But there was a Chitauri invasion going to start and I had to do something to buy the others some time.”

Steve felt bad again. He remembered what he told Tony about the sacrifice play. And when he considered everything Tony had done under the invasion and the way he had saved the Helicarrier even though it was dangerous he had to admit. He had been wrong about Tony Stark. He glanced over to Tony and was surprised to find the man’s blue eyes staring straight at him.

“Tony?”

“Not the one to make sacrifice play right Cap? Never good enough. Because I couldn’t be HIM. I saw it back then on the Helicarrier. How you tried to find him in me. How it irritated you when I refused to be him. I hope you are happy now. Now that you’ve finally got to do what your old friend always said you would. Got to BEAT some sense into me.”

Then he snorted.

“Father dearest would be so proud of you.”

Steve was completely still.

“Howard talked about me?”

Tony’s laugh was ice cold and short enough to not hurt him.

“Talk about you. He never shut up about you. Before he found out it was always: ‘Anthony you should be more like Steve’, ‘I will raise you to be like Steve’, ‘You are so pathetic, why can’t you be more like Steve?’ But that was still quite easy to stand. He didn’t hit me back then. Mom was taking care of me. But then they found out. Mom became scared. Of me. Of him. She stopped being a mother for some time. And he continued. Even worse than before. ‘You are a disgrace to the Stark name freak, I wish Steve was still alive to beat you up’, ‘Steve would hate you you freak’, ‘Don’t try to pretend you can be a hero, you’ll never be Steve’, ‘If Steve was here he’d beat you so good that you would never talk against me’, ‘Freaks like you are not supposed to even be allowed to live, if Steve was here he’d kill you’. And you know what? If Winter hadn’t taken me to Hydra that day, I’m sure that Howard would have killed me. Because I never could be as good as you. And then I met you. And in Berlin I thought: ‘He seems like a nice guy’. Then when we all talked at the Helicarrier and you said that you know that reference I thought that maybe Howard was lying. Then you got back with that gun and confronted Fury and I was in awe. Captain America was the wonderful person aunt Peggy always told me about when she was free from work. And then the argument. And I realized that Howard wasn’t lying. You did hate me. Even though you didn’t even know me really back then. So I told myself: ‘Let’s prove the two of them wrong, once and for all. Whatever the cost may be.’ And I admit that I was ready to die in that portal. But for some odd reason my comm never died. I didn’t have enough air to say anything. I heard Cap tell Widow to close it. And I had my confirmation to what Howard had said. So I accepted it. I accepted that my death was the only thing that could make you happy. Then things got better. You actually talked to me without any insults. For some time I saw aunt Peggy’s Steve. And then I messed up. Again. And Howard’s Steve was back. And I realized that I could never do anything to make you like me for who I was. I lost Jarvis then. I lost a part of my family. Vision was born. Then Pietro died and I could see it in you. You blamed me just as much as Wanda did back then. So I did what I do best. I hid. Then the Sokovia Accords came up and I knew we had to keep at least one hand on the steering wheel. So I signed. And I hoped you all would understand. That if we wanted to change the Accords later we had to agree to them first. Tasha new that. And so did Rhodey and Vision. But you were too stubborn to understand. And by then I knew that Winter was alive. I wanted him to be taken in. I wanted to talk to him. But you wouldn’t let me go anywhere near him. Because I was Tony and I destroyed everything in my path. Winter escaped. You escaped. Sharon told me she would work with you. I let her get away with your stuff. Ross was furious. He wanted you all dead. So I did what I had been thought to do by Howard. I lowered my head and almost begged him to let me speak to you and capture you instead. Ross agreed. Me and Nat got some people together. But so did you. You dragged Clint from his kids and you took Wanda from a place where she was safe. But I was ready to give you one more chance. For aunt Peggy’s sake. I went to Siberia. I tried. I admit that I was blinded when I saw that footage. But it wasn’t really because of mom even if I said it later. It was because Jarvis was in that car too. We fought. And I regretted starting it. But then you were both against me. And I shot blindly. Hit you. Winter got me. When he tried to pull the reactor out I panicked. For a second all I saw was Obie. So I shot. The arm came off. And then you were on me again. And when you lifted the shield all I could think of was how Howard was right. You would be the one to kill me.”

Tony slumped back in his chair and Bucky begun to massage his neck. He was exhausted by the long speech. Everyone else was stunned into silence. Then Wanda reached over and put her hand on his. He looked over to her and she smiled softly. He tried to smile back but he couldn’t. Too many memories crashed down onto him. Bucky’s hand was the only thing that kept him from a panic attack. Then Fury looked over to Steve but before he could say anything Friday spoke up:

“Boss? I hate to interrupt but I have Ross on line. What do you want me to do?”


	19. First Kiss

Everyone turned towards Tony. He looked almost bored. 

“Whatever. You guys keep quiet. Put him through Fri.” 

They all stilled when they heard Ross voice.

“Stark. Do you really think you can keep putting me on hold for almost a month?” 

Tony chuckled. 

“Oh Teddy. You know me. I’m a busy man.” 

“This is serious Stark. Leave the nicknames for your girls. We have information about Captain America being in New York again. We need you to find him and capture him as well as the other fugitives.” 

Tony sighed and waved his hand. Friday begun to show the fight that had been downstairs and then pulled up files on Ross. She highlighted the sentence ‘WORKS WITH HYDRA’. That made Tony smirk. 

“You know Teddy I have some very interesting files here. And I knew you were a scumbag but Hydra? Really? You can’t get lower.” 

Then he frowned and added:

“Maybe with Hammer. Yeah. You could get lower with Hammer. But that’s not important right now. So tell me Teddy. Why Hydra?” 

Friday had now given him all the files there were on Ross and highlighted the most recent and important things. Then she pulled up T’Challa’s file. On it, with big red letters, she wrote ‘MISSING’. Then she added: ‘most probably Ross and Hydra’. Tony froze. 

“Well,well, well. You really are into this Ross. Kidnapping the king of Wakanda? Not good.” 

Ross was quiet for a few seconds almost as if he couldn’t believe that Tony knew so much. 

“So what James? What are you going to do?” 

Tony sat up straighter. 

“Who told you about that name? Pierce is dead.” 

They could all hear the satisfaction in Ross voice when he spoke again. 

“I have my informants. There are still people alive that remember you.” 

Clint waved his hand and when Tony looked over to him he started to sign like crazy. Tony followed his hand movements carefully and then nodded when they stopped. 

“I… How many?” 

Everyone but Clint was shocked by how Tony’s voice changed. He sounded almost afraid. The satisfaction could once again be heard in Ross voice. 

“Enough to destroy everything you have.”

Tony dragged in a shaky breath. 

“Wha… What do you want me to do?” 

“I need you to find Rogers and his team and get them back here. And I want you to find Romanoff and Carter too. Dead or alive. Understood?” 

Tony’s response came immediately. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Howard taught you well.” 

They all saw hate and anger in Tony’s eyes but he kept quiet. 

“Good. I want them as soon as possible. Get to work on it. You’re working for Hydra now.” 

Tony took a calming breath and answered in a whisper:

“Hail Hydra.” 

The line went dead and Tony leaned over the table to high five Clint. They all looked at them and Natasha voiced what they all had been thinking:

“What was that about?” 

Clint looked over to her with surprise on his face. 

“You know sign language.” 

“I didn’t get all of it.” 

Tony was writing something on his phone with Wanda and Bucky looking over his shoulders. Clint looked around and when he noticed that no one understood he explained. 

“I figured that if Ross knew about Tony being James Winter then he would try to get him to work for Hydra again. So I told Tony to play along as if he was scared. If Ross thought that he had Tony in his hand then it would give Tony a free pass to the Hydra bases. This way he could figure out where they are holding T’Challa and maybe even free him.” 

Bucky turned sharply towards Clint. 

“He’s not going back there.” 

Clint held his gaze for a second and then looked away. Bucky was furious. He couldn’t understand how anyone could want to send his Jamie back there. Tony looked up from the phone and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“I am. You can’t stop me.” 

Bucky’s cold stare was now turned at Tony. 

“There is no way I’m letting you go back to that base James. Especially not now that you have your powers back.” 

Tony looked positively furious. 

“I’m not a child anymore!” 

Bucky looked at him for a long moment. Then he sighed and his voice softened. 

“No, you’re not. But that doesn’t mean I want you to risk your life.” 

Tony lowered his head. He understood. He really did. But T’Challa was in danger. And since T’Challa had been a part of his team and helped Tony through a panic attack shortly after he came back to New York, Tony saw him as a part of the family he had created. He wasn’t on the same level as Natasha, Wanda, Bruce, Pepper and Rhodey. And far from the level Winter was on. But he was still a part of family. 

“I will be fine. I won’t go as Tony Stark. And I will only have to go to one base. But I’ll need your mask. And different clothes.” 

They were looking at each other for a moment and then Bucky nodded and got up. 

“I’ll see what I can find.” 

He went out of the kitchen and Tony turned to the others. 

“I’ll go tonight. First I’ll go to Ross. Tell him that I have my powers back. I’ll try to be as honest with him as possible without telling him that you are here. It seems that he doesn’t really know about the fight that was here. Nice job with that one by the way. It was nice to see you all in action on the same side again. But you should have told  me about T’Challa being gone. I could have done something earlier.” 

Natasha and Wanda were both looking at him with worry. The younger girl took his hand and asked quietly:

“Are you sure? It might be dangerous. I don’t want to lose you… Dad.”

Tony looked happy for a second when she said that but then his smile disappeared. 

“I’m definitely not sure. But I wasn’t sure when I flew the suit for the first time. I had to admit I almost died then but it all ended well. And as I said I won’t be going as Tony Stark.”

“You better explain yourself Stark.” 

Fury’s voice was irritated. He had a feeling that he was missing something. Tony sighed.

“You know about me being a mutant and about me being James Winter right?” 

Fury nodded. He had read Peggy Carter’s private file on James Winter. Clint looked shocked but before he could ask anything Sam elbowed him in the side. He shook his head and the archer understood the silent message. ‘Later’. He looked back to Tony who was now speaking again. 

“Well I figured that they would hold T’Challa at a place where I would never go again. The base where I lived as a child. He is most probably there. And as I said: I won’t go as Tony Stark. And not as Iron Man either. I will go as James Winter. If there are still people there that remember me then it shouldn’t be hard to get back in now that Pierce is dead.” 

And finally Fury understood. Tony was going back to Hydra. He was going to work for and with Hydra to get their trust again. He was going to…

“You know how they will go at it?” 

Tony winced. 

“More or less. I’ll most probably get a handler. They won’t give me any insight into the files. They will try to make me into the new Asset. I’ll go on missions. I will most probably not come back to the Tower in some time.” 

Rhodey was shifting uncomfortably in his seat. 

“And what if the UN wants me and Vision to take you down?” 

Tony smirked and his answer came in a split second. 

“Hunt me down. Fight me. Give your best shot. Make it real.” 

Rhodey paled but nodded. He trusted Tony. After all, he had know Tony the longest of them all. Well maybe except for Fury but that bastard seemed to know everyone since the day they were born. Tony used to call him dinosaur and Rhodey thought that it was quite fitting. Then Steve spoke up.

“You might have to hurt someone while you are with Hydra Tony. Are you sure you want to go that far for a friend?” 

Rhodey snorted. 

“Well look who is talking.” 

But he quieted when Tony sent him THAT look. 

“I am sure Rogers. I would do that for anyone in my family.” 

Steve lowered his head understanding the underlying message. ‘Unlike you’. He remembered picking his shield up and bringing it over his head. He remembered Tony’s terrified eyes. He remembered smashing the shield down into the reactor. He remembered not caring as he left with Bucky. And he realized that Tony had always been the real hero of the Avengers. When Natasha had been in trouble he had flown over to her and saved her even if it almost killed him. When the roof that Clint was on exploded Tony ignored the fact that he was being shot at and raced to save the archer. He was always watching everything. Keeping an eye on everyone. He was the one who always flew away after the battle to find the human Bruce even if he was hurt himself. His attention was drawn away from Tony when Bucky went back inside. 

“I left it all in your bedroom.” 

Tony stood up and, once again, used his powers to keep his balance. Bucky looked at him with worry but didn’t say anything. Tony went out and Bucky sat down again. He looked actually scared. 

“Bucky?” 

He turned his head towards Wanda. 

“Dad will be fine. He is strong.” 

Bucky nodded but didn’t seem convinced. A few minutes passed and then the door opened again. And everyone froze. Tony slowly walked in. He had tight black pants and a fitting black jacket that looked very much like the one the Winter Soldier had wore. The only difference was that Tony’s had a hood which he had dragged over his head. He had black boots on and a black belt. To the belt he had strapped a gun that some of the more observant ones recognized as the one Winter had given him. Covering his mouth and nose was the mask. His eyes shone  brightly and the blue power was floating around him. He looked almost as that little boy that had attacked the SHIELD headquarters back then. Tony stopped.

“I take your reaction as a compliment.”

When no one answered he shrugged. 

“I’ll be going then. Friday will keep you updated. Wish me good luck.” 

He headed towards the door but stopped when he heard Natasha say:

“James wait.” 

He turned back to her. She stood up and went over to him. After a second’s hesitation she leaned up and kissed him where his mouth was under the mask. He froze and his eyes widened. Then he took her hand and put it over the place where his reactor was concealed by the jacket.

“I’ll be back.” 

Then he let go of her hand, turned around and went out. 


	20. Fury Craves Explanation

As soon as the door closed Clint applauded. Pepper reached over and smacked him on the head but she was smiling. Clint grabbed his head.

“Ow! What is wrong with you women?”

“You’re an idiot.”

Natasha’s voice was fond. She went back to her place and looked around the table. Everyone was either shocked or worried. When she got to Bruce she noticed that his eyes were green.

“Bruce? You all right?”

He nodded slowly. Then he looked over to the wall that was still projecting Ross and T’Challa’s files. And Natasha understood. Bruce had bad memories of Ross. Very bad memories. Then Bruce turned back to the others and said slowly:

“I just hope he will be fine. Ross is a messed up person. He will try to use Tony for his powers. I, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I hope Tony will get to that Hydra base as fast as possible.”

Some of them nodded. Then Fury turned to Steve and said with a dangerous voice.

“I hope you will explain everything now Rogers.”

Everyone’s heads turned toward Steve. He looked actually a bit guilty.

“About which part Director?”

Fury looked furious.

“About the fight in Siberia. I can have Friday show me all the other things through footage. I want to know what happened in Siberia!”

Even Natasha and Clint looked surprised at the anger in Fury’s voice. They hadn’t expected it. Steve very obviously surprised too because he quickly said:

“We fought.”

Bucky rolled his eyes.

“That’s an understatement.”

Fury looked from Steve to Bucky and then back to Steve.

“Maybe Barnes should tell us. I have a feeling that he will not try to lie or change anything.”

He turned to Bucky and said man nodded.

“Me and Steve got to Siberia. We were making our way through the base there when one of the doors opened and Jamie went in in the Iron Man armour. He talked to Steve and they came to an understanding. We started to make our way through the base with Jamie using the suits sensors to make sure that it was clean. We arrived in a room and Jamie watched the video of his parents killed. He then turned to Steve and asked if Steve knew. First he tried to lie but then he admitted that he knew. Jamie shot at Steve and threw him across the room. I didn’t know that Tony was Jamie back then so I attacked him. We fought and then Steve came in. Steve tried to give me time to get away but it didn’t work out. We started to fight again and once again it was me and Steve against Jamie. We didn’t hold back. Then Jamie shot Steve and it looked as if Steve was dead. I saw red. Especially since I thought Steve was the only person I had left in the world. I attacked. Almost pulled the reactor out. Jamie managed to shoot me and take the arm off. The blast created some kind of energy that traveled through me and I passed out. The last thing I remember is Steve getting up. Then it all went black and when I came to Steve was pulling me up and Jamie was lying on the ground.”

Fury kept his eye on Bucky.

“And you didn’t recognize him?”

Bucky shook his head.

“Jamie never told me his real name and, as I said to the others, I never connected the boy I found at that mansion with Howard Stark’s son. I was brainwashed a few times back then. I think they wanted to make sure I couldn’t connect those two. After all, Pierce knew all along. The fact that Jamie didn’t want to use his real name and didn’t want to be connected to Howard was most probably the only thing that saved him. I don’t think Pierce would have dared to keep Tony Stark in the base. James Winter on the other side was Hydra. He felt comfortable there. No one ever abused him or called him anything hurtful. He was allowed to be a child. Everything was taken into consideration. They learned that they couldn’t hand him things. Men never raised their voice around him and kept their hands where he could see them. He was allowed to use his powers all the time. They even sometimes asked him to help them lift things around in the lab with his powers. But at the same time I think that they did everything they could to kill Tony Stark in him. They needed James. And they needed me to know him as James.”

Fury slowly nodded.

“I am not sure if I don’t blame you for what happened in Siberia. Especially since you went for the reactor.”

“I don’t want you to not blame me. I blame myself for what happened there.”

Steve wanted to say something but Sam’s cold stare shut him up. Meanwhile Fury said with a powerful voice.

“I don’t blame you for starting it Barnes. From what I understood Tony delivered the first shot. It’s the reactor part I’m not feeling good about. But I want to thank you for taking Tony away from that house. Howard would have killed him.”

Bucky nodded and Fury turned back to Steve.

“Now then Rogers. We know what happened the most of the time. Now you’ll tell us what happened while Barnes was out.”

Steve paled. Fury’s voice was calm and quiet but through the time of working for SHIELD the Avengers had learned that a calm Fury was the most dangerous Fury.

“I… We fought. He blasted Bucky’s arm off. Bucky passed out. Me and Tony kept fighting. I got him on the ground without the helmet on. I raised the shield and he brought his hands up to cover his face. I hit the shield into his reactor. But I swear that I didn’t try to kill him. I thought that the armour wouldn’t let the shield get to the reactor. I wanted to scare Tony so that he wouldn’t try to follow us. But the shield just went through the suit. I dragged it out as fast as I could.”

Steve was speaking quickly. Almost as if he hoped they would drop it if he said it that way. Clint and Sam openly stared at Steve. Natasha and Rhodey were trying to calm down enough to not hit someone. Fury’s face was calm but in his eye they could all see anger. Vision’s stone was shining a bit but he seemed to have it under control. Bruce was another thing. He quickly stood up and ran out of the room and into the elevator. His skin had taken on a slightly green color. Bucky was hugging a shaking Wanda. She seemed to have lost some of the control over her power and it was now surrounding her just like Tony’s had done before. But that didn’t scare Bucky off and they soon realized why. He must’ve done it many times before with Tony. And slowly the red glow disappeared and Wanda stopped to shake but Bucky refused to let her go for a few more seconds. When he let go she was calm again but her eyes were throwing daggers at Steve. Then suddenly they heard the clicking of heels and before anyone could stop her Pepper had picked up the shield and slammed it with all her might on Steve’s head. He grunted and quickly covered his head when Pepper lifted the shield again. Rhodey quickly stood up and took the shield away from her.

“I think you drove the point home with the first hit Pepper.”

When she looked back at them she saw that everyone’s expressions had changed. Wanda and Clint were giving her thumbs up while Sam tried to not chuckle at Captain America being almost knocked out by Pepper Potts. Bucky was smirking and Fury gave her a small nod. Vision’s stone had stopped glowing. Natasha looked shocked.

“I’ve picked that shield up once. That thing is heavy. How did you manage to lift it?”

Pepper smirked.

“I’ve been Tony’s personal assistant before I became the CEO. Sometimes it involved handing him things when he was stuck under a car. Many times helping him in the workshop was the only way to get him to pay attention to the papers I wanted him to sign.”

At that Bucky frowned.

“He doesn’t like to be handed things. Only I could… Oh. He trusts you.”

Pepper nodded.

“From what I know, me, Nat, Rhodey, Vision, Bruce and Clint are the only ones that can hand him things.”

Steve had now recovered from the hit and was now keeping his head down. Then Friday spoke up.

“Boss skipped Ross and went straight to the base. He is arriving now. Would you like to see the footage?”

Everyone nodded and Pepper and Rhodey returned to their seats. Rhodey placed the shield against the wall again. The projector came to life once more.


	21. The Chair

Tony got out of the car outside the base. He knew they were watching him so he was moving slowly. But at the same time he knew that they were afraid of him. He went over to the door and opened it with his powers. The locks were nothing for him. As soon as he opened the door he had at least seven guns pointed at him. Then an old man came out of one of the doors and froze in shock. 

“James?” 

Tony smirked behind the mask. This was good. 

“Doctor Ericson.”

The man rushed in between Tony and the guards. 

“Stand down you idiots! James! Where have you been?” 

Tony hesitated. He wasn’t sure how much this man knew about what had happened to him back then. In the end he decided to not tell the whole truth. 

“I’ve been away some time. Started to doubt in Hydra’s goals. But I’m back now. I was wrong.” 

Ericson nodded. 

“You were. But you are back. That’s good. We could need some help. Boss will be happy.” 

Tony was surprised. 

“Boss?” 

“His name is Ross. But that stupid trickster calls him Boss because it rhymes. Of course he knows the punishment for doing that. I can’t believe you are here. And so grown up. You look like Winter.” 

Tony smiled. That was a new one. Usually it was “you look so much like Howard”. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s the clothes.”  

Ericson laughed. Tony kept quiet. That man had an odd humor but he didn’t comment on it. 

“Is Ross here?” 

Ericson shook his head. 

“Not yet. He’s coming by later. To get the…” 

“Ericson! What’s going on here?!” 

Tony stood a bit straighter. A man in late thirties was coming towards them with even more guards. Ericson was easy to fool. This man seemed to be in charge. 

“Who are you?!” 

The man was talking very loudly and Tony felt the urge to slap him but he restrained himself and answered in a calm voice. 

“James Winter.” 

The man looked shocked for a second and Tony understood that he had heard about him. He stood as still as he could. He didn’t want to give them any reason to shoot. He needed them to trust him. And what was Ross going to get? Or who? 

“So. Winter. You’re back. General Ross said you might come back.” 

Tony kept quiet. He remembered the times he was in the room when Winter reported back from missions. There was one important rule. Stay quiet until someone told you to speak. Winter had been good at it. Tony was worried. Speaking was his strength. He could talk over anyone. Now he had to be quiet. The man was looking at him for a long moment and then smirked. 

“Let’s go then. Follow me.” 

He turned around and walked away. Tony hurried after him. He knew he had to follow the orders for now. As they walked Tony recognized every single turn. He knew where they were going. The room with the chair. He shivered. His powers had been taken there. He had hoped he would not have to get back to that room. But to not reveal himself he would have to stay calm. They walked into the room and the man pointed towards the chair. It looked a bit different but not much. Tony felt fear but still he went over to the chair and sat down. The man went over to one of the scientists and whispered something. The scientist shook his head. 

“It is not how it works on mutants.” 

Tony stilled. He didn’t like this. At all. The man said something more and the scientist nodded. He pressed some button and Tony felt suddenly how the chair came to life. Metal straps closed around his arms and he saw how his power disappeared. He felt panic. The man came over to him, reached out and took the hood and mask off. 

“You won’t need this for what is going to happen.” 

Tony felt cold. He couldn’t use his power. But then he calmed himself down a bit. He lived through Afghanistan, Vanko, Loki, Chitauri, Ultron and Captain America without the powers. He would live through this too. The man was smirking again. 

“Your powers are blocked while the straps are on. This chair is modified. We had to find a good way to punish the other one. His power was going haywire and we had to figure something out. Now we’ll show you what happens to mutants when you disobey.” 

He turned to the scientist and nodded. And Tony screamed. The pain appeared before he could prepare himself. He had been through many things in Afghanistan but this was worse. He didn’t know how long it was going on but when it was over he was hoarse. The straps disappeared but he didn’t move. How had they managed to create something like that? The man came up to him again and said with a sharp voice:

“Sit up straight.” 

Tony obeyed immediately. His whole body was hurting. 

“I think you understand the rules now. You disobey, you get punished. Clear?” 

Tony nodded. 

“Crystal.” 

Then they heard footsteps and when the door opened Tony froze. The man stood up straight. 

“General Ross.” 

Ross looked over to Tony and smirked. He went in with five guards behind him. 

“I see you’ve already begun.” 

“Yes sir.” 

Ross stopped in front of Tony and looked down at him. Tony was struck by how similar it was to the way Pierce used to stand over Winter. He looked up at Ross. It hurt. Every movement hurt. The reactor hurt. He couldn’t take deep breaths. 

“I told you before Stark. I always win.” 

“Except for when it comes to Bruce.” 

Tony wanted to kick himself for his big mouth. Ross looked furious. He nodded towards the scientist and before Tony could move, the straps closed around his arms again. The pain came a second later. But this time it seemed that it was going on a shorter time. Tony was released and he struggled to breathe. Ross face was blank when he looked at him. 

“Sit up straight.” 

And that was when Tony understood what they were doing. And he was furious that it took him so long time to figure it out but he blamed it on the recent coma. They were training him. Breaking him. And if he wanted to get T’Challa out… He forced himself to sit up straight again and look up at Ross. The man looked satisfied. 

“You got the message?” 

“Yes sir.” 

Ross smiled. 

“Good. Now you’ll tell me everything that you know about the current whereabouts of Captain Rogers and his team. Romanoff and Carter too.” 

Tony kept his eyes on Ross when he slowly answered.

“Na… Romanoff, Barton and Carter are living in my Malibu house. I sent Maximoff and Wilson to an old vacation house I own in Mexico. I don’t know where Rogers and Barnes are.” 

Ross nodded slowly and then turned to the scientist. 

“I do not think that he has learned the lesson yet.” 

But this time Tony was quicker. He stood up and said quickly:

“I told you where they are.” 

The slap caught him off guard. He stumbled a bit and two off the guards pushed him so that he landed in the chair again. The straps came out and took a hold of him. But the pain never came. Instead Ross came closer. 

“You think I am stupid? I know they were hiding in Wakanda. And I know that they arrived at your Tower today. But then the soldiers we sent there failed to return and the GPS system in the plane was turned off. So I presume you sent them away. Now you’re going to tell me where they are or I’ll tell them to turn the chair on and keep you in it for a hour.” 

Tony quickly thought of all his possibilities. But before he could say anything the door slammed open. 

“I was told to… come… here.”


	22. An Old Friend

The man that had came in had shoulder long brown hair and brown eyes. He had a long leather coat and a hat on. In one of his hands he held a bo-staff and in the other hand he was flipping cards around. His cajun accent was thick when he spoke. Tony’s eyes widened. Ross looked from one to another.

“You know each other?”

But the newcomer was staring at Tony. Suddenly his eyes flashed with purple. He threw the cards and when they hit the guards and the scientist they exploded, throwing the humans backwards. Then he pulled two more cards and charged them with the energy. He threw them at the man who had led Tony to the chair and the man flew backwards with a nasty burn on his chest. Then the mutant turned to Ross.

“Our agreement is over.”

Ross tried to pull a gun out but was hit with a card. It didn’t harm him but the hit he got when he crashed into the metal table knocked him out. The man went over to Tony.

“Never thought I would meet you again. Not in a place like this.”

Tony raised his eyebrows.

“Me? What are YOU doing here Remy? I thought you hated organizations.”

Remy smirked.

“I had an agreement. I stole some things for them and they promised to help me find Creed.”

Tony was surprised.

“You don’t have him yet? How good is that guy?”

“Bad as a rotten apple.”

Tony looked towards the door. More guards would be there soon.

“Get me out of this chair.”

Remy nodded and went over to the control table. He pushed some of the buttons and the straps let go. Tony stood up but sat down again when he felt the pain. Remy was at his side in an instant.

“Sit still. It will pass soon. It’s some kind of electrical shock thing. Tried to tap into it once but those stupid straps held me. Got another half an hour for that.”

His tone was light but Tony could hear the pain he felt when talking about it so he decided to change the topic.

“What did you steal for them?”

Remy shrugged.

“This and that. Some files. Weapons. The king of Wakanda.”

“WHAT?!”

Understanding dawned upon Remy.

“You’re here to get him out?”

Tony nodded. Remy was still for a few seconds and then he stood up.

“The cells are not far from here. Come on. We’re getting him and then I’m getting you home.”

Tony took a deep breath.

“Why? You don’t have any debt to me.”

Remy looked him straight in the eyes and hesitated. Almost as if he didn’t know himself. Then he turned around and went over to the staff that he had dropped when he rushed over to Tony. He picked it up and stopped with his back turned to the other man.

“I don’t need any debt when it comes to friends. Are we going? I know how to get there without getting noticed.”

Tony nodded and slowly stood up. He used the power to keep balance and ignored the worried look Remy threw him. They were on their way to the door when it opened and the first guards came in. Remy smirked and took out a few cards. But before he could do anything Tony had released his power towards the men. They all fell down.

“Are they…?”

“No. The pressure made them black out. You know how many people are here?”

Remy shook his head.

“Not really. Around 20 guards in the prison downstairs. The king is the only prisoner. I don’t know how many they are up here but I would say we took out quite many.”

Tony rolled his eyes.

“Why do I bother working with you Cajun?”

Remy shrugged.

“You are desperate.”

They started to make their way down the corridor. Occasionally Tony would knock a guard out. They had a silent agreement that Remy’s cards were too noisy to use in that moment. When they got downstairs they stopped.

“Any great plans?”

Tony raised an eyebrow and whispered back:

“I thought you said you had a plan.”

“I never said THAT. But fine. Let’s do it my way. Stay here.”

He then stood up and went out into the open. The guards looked over to him and one of them got an evil grin on his face.

“You down here again LeBeau?”

Remy tilted his head.

“I thought you were at least a bit smarter.”

Then he smashed his staff into the ground. The energy traveled through the floor and threw all the guards into the air. They were all unconscious when they landed. Remy looked around and said with a dangerous voice.

“The name is Gambit. Remember that.”

Then his face softened.

“Come on Tony. We don’t  have so much time. Someone must’ve reported about this. And I don’t like that fact that Ross is up there. Let’s hurry.”

Tony came out from behind the wall and looked a bit impressed when he saw the guards on the ground. Before he could say anything they heard a voice from one of the cells on the furthest end of the basement.

“Tony?”

Tony quickly went over there. T’Challa was shocked when he saw the blue power but he didn’t comment on it. He looked good for someone who had been a prisoner. He had a cut on his cheek and a bruise on his forehead. Tony guessed that that was how Remy had managed to kidnap the king. By simply knocking him out. Tony looked at the padlock and then at Remy. The man understood. He lifted the staff up and hit it on the lock. At the same second his eyes flashed purple again. The lock exploded and the door opened. T’Challa quickly came out. He was looking with mistrust at the cajun so Tony stepped in.

“He is a friend of mine. He isn’t Hydra.”

T’Challa nodded and Tony was happy that the king had learned not to judge people he didn’t know after the first time he was wrong. Remy grabbed his staff harder and said:

“We should go.”

They made their way outside without meeting anyone else which put Tony at edge. It was a bit too quiet. Remy must’ve thought that too because he took out a whole deck of cards and started to flip them in one hand. Their instincts were right. As soon as they stepped outside they were shot at. Tony put up a shield to protect himself and T’Challa from the bullets. Remy had put the cards away and started to move his staff around with one fluid motion. The bullets were hitting the staff and then bouncing back to the men. But when they were on the way back they were purple. Tony moved so that his power was covering Remy too and Remy took the cards out again. He charged a few of them and threw them at the men. But instead of hitting them, they exploded before they got there. The men were thrown back by the blast.

“I have a car over there. I’ll cover you.”

Remy grabbed T’Challa’s arm and dragged him towards the car. Tony was going behind them, keeping an eye on the guards on the ground.

“Tony! Come on!”

He turned around and took the few steps towards the car. Remy pushed him onto the passenger seat and took the driver seat himself.

“You’re too weak now. Rest. I’ll find the way back.”

Tony nodded. The adrenaline had disappeared as soon as he sat down in the car and he was tired. His whole body was hurting. Especially around the reactor. Remy wasn’t speeding. His driving was calm and, for once, he wasn’t doing anything illegal. Except for the fact that he probably didn’t even have a driver’s licence. Not that Tony cared about the slow driving but he wasn’t sure how bad the reactor was. He forced himself to stay awake.

“Tell me about that chair.”

Remy threw him a worried glance but didn’t ask.

“They remade it when they figured out that they couldn’t brainwash mutants. It makes some kind of electrical shock. The machinery behind it all is beyond me. The bonds are somehow blocking the mutation. You can feel it inside you but you can’t use it.”

Electrical shock. That would explain some of the problems with his reactor. He looked over to the younger man.

“What’s the longest…?

“The longest they’ve kept me in that thing?”

Tony nodded.

“Around two hours. In the end I think I begged them to kill me. I’ve been through much Tony but that chair… It kept me in line.”

“They said you called Ross for Boss and made him furious.”

He had hoped to lighten up Remy’s mood. It was hard to see the usually carefree cajun so hurt. He had seen him with that look on his face only once. When they were going after Stryker. He knew he was successful when Remy burst out laughing. The car swerved a bit but he got control over it quickly.

“Yes. You should have seen his face.”

Tony shook his head a bit.

“You’re living a dangerous life Remy.”

The cajun smirked.

“Since the day I was born.”

Then he looked into the rearview mirror and catched T’Challa looking at him.

“Yeah. Bout that. I’m not really sorry but I guess I should apologize for knocking you out.”

Tony heard T’Challa say something but he didn’t register what it was because he suddenly felt sharp pain in his chest. He must’ve made some kind of sound because Remy quickly looked over to him.

“Tony?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going for the way Remy looks in the Wolverine movie but with him speaking with the cajun accent like the one in the comics. His history will be explained later.


	23. The Piano

He couldn’t breathe. He put his hand up to the reactor and Remy understood. He pressed the gas pedal down and the car shot forward. The cajun was keeping his eyes on the road and seemed calm but his eyes were occasionally flashing purple. He got to the Tower around two minutes later. He shot into the garage and stopped with screeching tires. T’Challa and Remy ran out of the car and opened Tony’s door. Remy looked over to where he knew a camera was and said quickly:

“Jarvis! We need a new reactor! Where are they?” 

A second later Friday answered.

“I’m sorry but I’m not Jarvis. The reactors are in the workshop. Miss Natasha is on her way down with one now.” 

The elevator door opened cutting Remy’s question as to who Friday was. Natasha came out with all the others behind her. The only missing person was Fury. Remy grabbed his staff but it was pulled out of his hand by Wanda’s powers. It didn’t bother him much. After all he could use anything to blow them up but he stilled when he noticed Bucky. 

“Winter?” 

The newcomers looked shocked but Bucky quickly collected himself, took the reactor from Natasha’s hand and went over to Tony. But then he stopped. Remy, seeing his uncertain face, took the reactor from his hand and opened Tony’s jacket. He unlocked and pulled the old reactor out and quickly put the new in. The Avengers were shocked. From what everyone had known, only Pepper knew how to change out the reactors. The new reactor shone up brightly and Tony was relieved. He could breathe again. 

“They are fine Remy.” 

The cajun looked over to them and seemed unconvinced. But then he nodded and helped Tony to slowly stand up. Bruce went over to them with his hands raised. 

“I’m a doctor.” 

But instead of calming him the sentence made Remy draw a few cards out. Tony quickly put a hand on his shoulder and whispered. 

“It’s fine Remy. Trust me.” 

He slowly nodded and put the cards away. T’Challa looked around with surprise in his eyes. 

“You all are working together again?” 

Natasha nodded and started to quickly explain what had happened. Meanwhile Wanda went over to Tony and Remy stepped away. Somehow he trusted the girl. 

“You a mutant cherie?” 

Wanda looked at him with untrusting eyes. He sighed and stretched his hand out. 

“Name’s Remy LeBeau, cherie.” 

She glanced over to Tony and took Remy’s hand when the older man nodded. Remy surprised her when he brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. She blushed and answered with a shaky voice:

“Wanda. Wanda Maximoff.” 

He smiled and Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Slow down Cajun. You were ready to blow them up a second ago.” 

Wanda, understanding what Tony was implying, pulled her hand away from Remy’s. Tony went over to her and hugged her.

“Hey kid.” 

She hugged him back. She had been worried. Friday’s communication with Tony had been cut the same second Tony stepped into that Hydra base. Then, some time later, Friday said that Tony, T’Challa and an old friend of Tony’s were on their way back. After a few minutes she had said that Tony was in need of a new reactor. They had all raced to the workshop where Natasha took the reactor out of the hidden box and they rushed downstairs. When they let go of each other Natasha had been done with explaining everything to T’Challa. He was now on the phone talking in Wakandian. Wanda glanced over to the man that had came with Tony. He was handsome and that accent was beautiful. She shook her head. He had tried to blow them up. She couldn’t go and fall for him now. But he had been protecting Tony. The girl was wondering if she would have acted like that too when she noticed that the man was on his guard all the time. His eyes were going around all the time but at the same time he seemed relaxed, almost nonchalant. He noticed that she was looking at him and smiled. She turned away and stepped away from Tony so that Bucky could smack him on the head. Remy didn’t even blink at that. She was surprised but on the other side he had recognized Winter before. 

“Never do that again.” 

Tony smiled. 

“I’m alive right?”  

Bucky rolled his eyes but before he could say anything Remy spoke up.

“You almost died. You should go to sleep.” 

Tony immediately heard the underlying message. 

“You’re not leaving Remy. Not again. You want to find Creed, I’ll help you. But I’m not letting you go out there again. Hydra and Ross will be looking for you now. This Tower is the most secure place right now.” 

Remy hesitated. 

“I can take care of myself.” 

Tony smiled softly. 

“I know you can. But I want you to stay. Your old room has not been touched.” 

After a few more seconds of hesitation he nodded. 

“All right. But you are going to bed.” 

“Fair enough.” 

They all went into the elevator and everyone noticed how Remy stood so that he could see everyone. In his hand he flipped cards. Friday stopped the elevator on Tony’s floor. They all went out and suddenly Remy relaxed. 

“Jarvis. Would you mind…” 

Then he stopped. 

“Wait. Where is Jarvis?” 

Tony lowered his head and Vision stepped in.

“Whatever is left of Jarvis is inside me.”

The cajun’s eyes widened for a second. He turned to Tony and then back to Vision. 

“You are Jarvis?”

“My name is Vision. But yes, Jarvis is a part of me.” 

Remy looked impressed. Tony slowly moved to the door where his bedroom was. 

“I’m going to bed. Remy is right. I need to rest. I’ll explain everything in the morning. You should rest too. Your rooms are in the same places. Pep? Would you mind showing Winter to one of the guest bedrooms?” 

She smiled at him.

“I’ve got it.” 

Tony smiled back and then went into his bedroom. Pepper herded them all back to the elevator. But instead of going to their respective floors the elevator stopped on the floor where all the guest rooms were. Friday spoke up when no one went out.

“I think it would be best if all of you stayed on one floor. This way, if something happens, you will be able to assemble much faster.” 

They all nodded and got out. After saying good night everyone went to their rooms. Everyone but Remy. He slowly went back into the elevator and the doors closed. 

“What’s your name girl?” 

“I’m Friday.” 

“Nice to meet you Friday. I’m Remy.” 

It was quiet for a moment and then Remy asked:

“Can you take me to the piano?” 

The elevator went down. At the same time Wanda went into the other elevator.

“Take me where he’s going Friday.” 

Remy arrived there first. He went over to the big piano and sat down. His hands rested on the keys for a few seconds before he started to play a slow calming melody. He hummed along for some time and then said without lifting his eyes from the piano.

“I know you are here cherie. You don’t have to hide.” 

Wanda came out of the shadows that she was hiding in.

“You don’t trust me.” 

It was a statement. Wanda shrugged. 

“I’m not sure. I don’t know you.” 

He nodded towards the piano bench he was sitting on. All the time he was playing the same melody. Wanda hesitated but then went over and sat down next to him. 

“It sounds nice.” 

He smiled. 

“Mrs. LeBeau used to play this for me when I couldn’t sleep.” 

Wanda was confused.

“Mrs. LeBeau? You mean your mother?” 

The cajun sighed and stopped playing. 

“I’m an orphan. LeBeau took me in when I tried to pickpocket him. I was ten.”

He put his hands back on the keys and begun to play. Wanda kept her eyes on his face for some time. 

“Can you tell me about yourself?” 

Remy turned his head towards her and it was almost as if he was checking her for signs of hostility. But her face was honest.

“LeBeau was the leader of Thieves Guild . I messed up there. One of the guys from the Assassin’s Guild wanted to duel me. I was only 16 and I lost control over my power. Almost killed him. I was banished. Had to live on the streets. I was stealing to survive. Played to get money.  Learned how to use my powers. Then I lost control again and Mr. Sinister said he could help me. He took a part of my brain tissue out to help me control my powers. I was in debt to him. He had me create a group. Marauders. There was a mutant underground community back then. Morlocks. What I didn’t know was that Sinister wanted the Morlocks gone. We went there and they… They killed them all. I tried to stop them but Creed… He slashed me. Almost got killed that time. I managed to grab one girl and get away. I left her in a safe place and got away. Only to get captured by Stryker.” 

The melody became suddenly very aggressive. 

“He kept trying to use my powers. Most of the time I was tortured since I never complied. The guards are the ones that gave me the name Gambit. No one there could beat me in poker. In his base I met Creed again. They had to keep us apart because I was after him. Two years later I escaped. I was 20. I got here and found out about Tony Stark being Iron Man. I wanted to steal his suit and sell it for information about Stryker and Creed. Jarvis caught me when I broke in. I had expected everything but an AI. I thought Tony would lock me in somewhere. Try to use my powers. That was all I knew back then. But he helped me. He told me his story. So I stayed. He helped me find Stryker. We got him and gave him to the authorities. I wanted to destroy him but Tony stopped me. He said I wasn’t a murderer. I left after that. Lived on the street. Joined Hydra to get information on Creed. But that monster is impossible to find.” 

Wanda was watching his playing hands with wide eyes. This man was not much older than she was. And he had been through so much already. Suddenly he stopped playing and stood up.

“I’m going to bed. Bonne nuit. Cherie.” 

He turned around and went into the elevator. When Wanda went to sleep around 20 minutes later she still had the soft melody of the lullaby in her head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you see I've changed a few parts of Remy's past. He never married. The Wolverine movie never happened. Remy's past is a mash-up of comic's and movie. Remy will most probably be the only X-men mutant to appear in this.


	24. Ross Boss

Natasha was the first one that woke up the next morning. She changed into fresh clothes and went up to Tony’s floor since there was no kitchen on the guest floor. Ten minutes later Remy came into the kitchen. He was fully clothed and was flipping a deck of cards from hand to hand. 

“Mornin’.” 

Natasha was still a bit sleepy. 

“Morning.” 

Remy’s voice was clear, almost as if he had been awake for hours. Natasha looked at him with surprise.

“How long have you been awake?” 

He glanced over to the clock on the wall. 

“Around 10 minutes.” 

Her eyes widened a bit. 

“No way.” 

He understood immediately and smiled. 

“When you live on the streets you learn to get clothed and fully awake in a few minutes. After some time you do it automatically.” 

He threw the cards around with precision and caught them all again. Natasha’s eyes were following them. 

“Who are you? We never really got introduced yesterday.” 

Remy looked over to her and put the cards on the table. 

“My name is Remy LeBeau. To my enemies it’s Gambit.” 

Recognition dawned upon Natasha. 

“Gambit. You were the one that escaped from Stryker.” 

He froze and the card he held in his hand glowed slightly purple. 

“How do you know that?” 

“I read his files. After he was taken. SHIELD got his files. He never broke you.” 

The glow slowly disappeared. 

“Never.” 

She turned away from him and started to prepare toasts and scrambled eggs for everyone. 

“I’m Natasha.” 

He nodded but kept quiet. She glanced over her shoulder. He was, once again, playing with the cards. 

“Why cards?” 

He smirked. 

“Because that’s exactly what they are. Cards. They will take all your weapons. But why would they ever take your cards?” 

She turned back to the food. 

“You’ve been through things. Something changed you right?” 

He was quiet so she explained further. 

“The look in your eyes yesterday. When Tony was having trouble breathing. I’ve seen it in other’s eyes. You were scared. That you would lose him.” 

They were both quiet for a long time and she didn’t press him. In the end he spoke up. 

“Tony is the only person I have left. The Thieves banished me. You don’t make friends on the streets. Tony… He is different. Not many people understand him. The real him. He is a good friend. Would give his life for his family. Even the ones that stab him in the back.” 

She looked down at the toasts. 

“You are talking about me right?” 

He shook his head slightly. 

“No. You saved his life. I don’t have anything against you. Besides. Life on the streets teaches you to not judge people by what others say. I would give you a chance even if you were a criminal. Even if you did something everyone hated you for.” 

Natasha was struck by how what he said could so easily be referenced to the whole Civil War thing. If only they all could think like this man. But then something caught her attention. 

“You’re speaking from your own experience.” 

After a few seconds he nodded slowly. Pictures of dead mutants flashed before his eyes. The massacre. The children crying. The screams. Mutants ripped apart. He forced the images down but Natasha had noticed. If she would be anyone else she would have missed it. But she was a spy. And she saw it all. She saw the empty haunted look in his eyes. She saw the guilt. And she couldn’t understand. He could impossibly be much older than Wanda. What had happened in his life? He looked up at her and said:

“You’re curious.” 

His voice was calm. Almost too calm. But he had learned. If he showed too much it would be used against him. She nodded and he sighed. Tony trusted her. And Tony’s trust was hard to gain.

“You ever heard about the Morlocks?” 

She gasped. Had he been one of the survivors? Had he seen it? But the guilt… It didn’t fit in. 

“You were one of them?” 

For a second he was shocked. She thought that he… He quickly shook his head. They were his fault. How could she think that… 

“I was the only one who knew how to get in there without getting noticed. I was the leader of Marauders.” 

It took her a few seconds to grasp what he was saying. Her eyes flashed with anger. 

“You led them down there?! You led them down there to slaughter the others?! There were CHILDREN there!” 

He didn’t flinch. He had been through it already. The surviving Morlocks remembered him. Some of them had found him. Natasha was surprised. She had expected some kind of reaction. And suddenly she realized something. She was judging him. Even though she didn’t know the whole story. She dragged a chair out and sat down. 

“I’m sorry. Can you tell me?” 

He was surprised. Usually people tried to hurt him when they found out. But there was honesty in her eyes. 

“I had problems with my powers. Sinister helped me but he wanted something in return. I created the Marauders. Thought it would be something like maybe stealing something. I didn’t realize what was happening until they started to fight. I tried to help the Morlocks. Creed got me.” 

“You were hurt?” 

Instead of answering he unbuttoned his shirt. There, across his chest, were old marks that looked almost as if someone had cut him with five knives. The scars looked almost as if they had been infected before they healed. The skin was standing up slightly and they were red with a tint of black in some places. They heard several gasps and both turned towards the elevator. All the Avengers plus Pepper were standing there. Some of them had changed into normal clothes while Clint, Sam and Wanda were in pyjamas. Remy quickly buttoned up his shirt. Clint was the first one to recover. He rushed over to the stove and moved the eggs around a bit. 

“One more minute and we would be without food.” 

Remy sunk down onto his chair and begun to flip the cards around. Slowly, one by one, everyone went into the kitchen. Wanda went over to Remy and sat down next to him. 

“What was that?” 

He smiled softly. 

“I told you yesterday cherie. I was slashed when I fought.” 

She looked really shaken. Pepper and Sam started to take juice, milk and more food out of the fridge while Natasha and Clint took care of the eggs and toasts. Then the door opened and Tony went in. He kissed Wanda on top of her head and Natasha on her cheek before he sat down next to Bucky. 

“Morning everyone.” 

Some of them answered while others were staring at Remy. The cajun, feeling very uneasy, put the cards on the table and said:

“I have scars. Can you stop staring now?” 

They turned away from him. T’Challa smiled.

“I never thanked you.” 

Remy was a bit confused.

“For knocking you out?” 

T’Challa laughed. 

“No, no. I hope you’ll never do that again although I would  love to know how you got past my guards. But no. I wanted to thank you for helping Tony get me out of there. And for driving that fast.” 

That made Tony remember something he was thinking about in the car. 

“By the way. Do you even have a driver’s license Remy?” 

Remy’s eyebrows shot up and Tony understood immediately. That was a no. 

“You’re crazy.” 

Remy just smirked. Pepper and Sam sat down and Natasha and Clint moved all the scrambled eggs and toasts onto the table. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Then Clint looked over to Remy and asked:

“Who are you by the way?”

“Remy LeBeau. To my enemies it’s Gambit.” 

Clint tilted his head a bit. 

“What kind of accent is that? I mean I don’t think I’ve heard it before.” 

“Cajun. I’m a cajun.” 

Wanda looked at him in interest. He smiled at her and she blushed a bit. Many of the other’s noticed that but no one commented. When they were done Tony levitated all the empty plates over to the sink. 

“Okey. Talk now.” 

Clint’s voice was curious. 

Tony nodded. 

“I got to the base as you know and was welcomed by some crazy overobeying man.” 

“I’m pretty sure overobeying is not a word.” 

Tony sent a fork flying at Remy but the cajun caught it without any difficulties. Wanda took it from him and gave him a glare. He smirked but didn’t say anything. 

“As I said. I was taken to the lab and put in the chair.” 

Bucky’s eyes widened but before he could say anything Remy quickly said:

“It doesn’t work that way on mutants. It’s a torture method. Pain.”

Everyone was staring at him. Clint was the first one to speak.

“And how is that supposed to be calming?” 

Remy shrugged. Tony took over again.

“Then Ross came in. Don’t interrupt me. Please. He had me tortured a bit more. Then Remy came in and kicked ass. We got T’Challa out and got here. Oh, and one more important thing.”

He made a dramatic pause and then said:

“Ross is the boss of Hydra now.” 

Clint spit out his juice over Sam.


	25. Thief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not posting for some days but I had a few tests in school and had to concentrate on those. Will post more now. I promise.  
> Thank you to all those who have been following this story from the beginning and all the new readers.

Sam shot up from his chair.

“Barton!”

Remy, Wanda and Rhodey burst out laughing. Sam rushed over to the sink to wash his face and Pepper got up to hand him a towel. Clint looked a bit guilty but then he smirked.

“Wet bird.”

Natasha reached over the table and smacked him on the head.

“OW! Why do you keep doing that?”

“You’re an idiot.”

No one argued with her on that. Clint shrugged and turned back to Tony.

“What do you mean he is the boss of Hydra?”

Tony shook his head almost as if he didn’t know how to answer that question or didn’t know himself how that was possible. Remy sighed.

“Easy. Ross has been a part of Hydra ever since the Hulk got away from him. He was one of the lower agents since he didn’t manage to capture Big Green. Then Hulk became a part of the Avengers and Ross promised he would get him. But the whole Chitauri attack happened and they didn’t get any chance because people loved Hulk. After that Ross was doing more and more risky things for them and working his way up in Hydra ranks. He managed to find some of the more hidden files on some of the most important people in UN and that got him a high place in the rank. He managed to blackmail some of the UN members into working for Hydra. The former boss liked him very much and it was said that Ross was going to be the next boss when the old one died. Then there was an attack on the base the boss was in and everyone died. Ross took up the boss place. The Accords were his idea. He wanted Hydra to be able to control the Avengers so that he could do whatever he wanted without anyone stopping him. When Captain America didn’t want to sign and took some of the heroes with him Ross saw the chance to get rid of some of them. He had all the files Pierce had on James Winter and was ready to use that as blackmail in case Tony ever would try to back out of the Accords.”

Everyone was staring at him. He frowned.

“What?”

The first one to collect herself was Natasha.

“How do you know all that?”

He looked at her almost as if she had grown a second head.

“I’m a THIEF. Doesn't that explain everything?”

Tony smirked but the rest of them shook their heads.

“I stole Ross files from Hydra. When I was working for them. That was why Ross didn't like me. I knew too much.”

Steve looked at him with surprise.

“So you stole from them while you were supposed to work for them?”

Remy shrugged.

“As I said Captain. I’m a thief. And since some time back I like to know who I’m working for.”

Tony nodded.

“You know anything more?”

“About?”

“Ross. Hydra. Whatever you managed to find.”

Remy smiled. He loved the fact that Tony didn’t judge him for his stealing.

“Ross wanted to change the Avengers team into Dark Avengers. Of course Tony would be the leader. Ross had enough blackmail material to make Tony do whatever he wanted him to do. As he knew that Captain America would be able to get together a team on his own, he knew that he had to create a big team to beat the Captain. So he pulled up some files on people that hated the Avengers. He was going to contact Dr. Karla Sofen, Cain Marko, Yelena Belova, Victor Von Doom and Morgan Le Fay. They also wanted to use a part of Thor that they had to create a clone of him called Ragnarok.”

Once again the Avengers were staring at him. He sighed.

“You have questions.”

Clint slowly asked:

“How good are you?”

Remy smirked at that.

“I’m the best thief you can find out there. I’ve been in this since I was a child.”

Then Natasha leaned over the table a bit.

“Yelena Belova was a russian spy. She was trained in the Red Room. Ever since the beginning she wanted to be THE Black Widow but she never managed to get as good as me. But why would Ross want to contact her if I was on his side with the Accords?”

No one answered. Remy looked around and thought for a long moment. He trusted Tony, Wanda and Natasha. Tony had told him about Winter, Pepper and Rhodey before. But could he trust the rest. Many of them had been against Tony. Vision was a big unknown even though he had said that he was partly Jarvis. But could they be trusted? He glanced over to Tony and the older man nodded almost as if he had understood the cajun’s thoughts. And if Tony trusted them…

“Ross knew that you would eventually side with the Captain. He wanted to make sure that he had a replacement for you. He wanted to get one villain against each hero that might side with Captain America. I took some of the files that he had on them and figured out who they were. Dr. Karla Sofen is also known as Moonstone. She was a successful psychologist and psychiatrist but became tired of being dependant on the patient’s to get money. She joined the criminals and found out about Lloyd Bloch, the original Moonstone. She then became his psychiatrist and manipulated him into giving up his powers so that she could absorb them.  She became the new Moonstone. Cain Marko served in the US-army when he found some kind of ritualistic cave. Didn’t really read into the details. He touched some ruby and chanted some words. He got some powers and became a human juggernaut. Therefore the name. Juggernaut. He has been confused with mutants before but his power is not a mutation. Victor Von Doom was born to a sorceress. His parents died when he was young and it seemed that misfortune was following him. He came over to the US and went to some school. Then he built a machine that literally exploded in his face. His face got damaged and he was expelled. He moved and made a suit of armor with a scowling mask. He took the name Doctor Doom. Morgan Le Fay is partly fae. She was Arthur Pendragon’s sister. The fae part made her immortal. She is a sorceress. Many people say she is the best one out there. Yelena Belova is, as Natasha said, a former soviet spy. She is mostly living in the criminal underworld now.”

They kept staring at him. Natasha and Tony were taking mental notes of what he was saying while Clint did his best to remember if he had read about any of those people in any files. Sam was looking at Remy with sharp eyes.

“How do you remember all that?”

Remy shrugged.

“During my thief career I’ve learned to remember things. How to get past things. The most important things about people. People’s weaknesses.”

Sam slowly nodded. Remy knew they didn’t trust him completely. He would never trust a person like himself completely. Then Tony smiled.

“You impress me Cajun.”

Remy lowered his head a bit in a mock-bow. Steve was frowning.

“You said something about some clone of Thor.”

Remy burst out laughing.

“Oh, yeah. That.”

He pulled two vials from the pocket of his coat and held them up. One of them was filled with blood and the other held a few blonde strands of hair.

“You still think I shouldn’t steal from Hydra Captain?”

Steve shook his head a bit and smiled. Meanwhile Remy turned to the others and asked:

“You want me to destroy this?”

Most of them nodded. Suddenly the vials glew purple and Remy’s eyes flashed purple for a second. The cajun threw the vials at the wall and they exploded but, to everyone’s surprise, no blood was visible. When they turned to Remy he smirked.

“A new trick. If I charge whatever a liquid is in enough it will warm the liquid to the point of it evaporating. Whatever the liquid may be. The blood is gone.”

Wanda smiled at him and he stilled. For a second he looked almost as if he was hit by a lightning but the next second he was looking away from her and towards Tony again.

“I don’t know if those people have been contacted yet but I would guess that they will be contacted now. Especially since Ross knows that Tony has his powers back and that you all are here.”

Tony nodded.

“Well then. We better get ready to fight them. They are only five and maybe some Hydra agents. We can do this. We have been through worse.”

Sam looked around and then turned to Tony.

“Stark. Tony. I know that the Avengers have dealt with worse things before. But are you sure that you can all work together again? After what happened.”

But Tony looked sure about what he was saying.

“We’ll just need to practice a bit together before we go out there and fight. It will take some time before Ross can get all his ‘heroes’ together. That gives us some time.”

Then he smiled and looked around.

“I have faith in us.”


	26. Training

An hour after the breakfast they all met in the training room. It was a enormous room with a big stage in the middle. On the stage were obstacles in form of low walls, rocks, short tunnels and other things. Under the ceiling hung platforms that could be used as roofs. Against one of the walls stood some couches. Everyone was in their Avengers gear except for Tony who was wearing the black clothes he had worn to Hydra. He also had the mask on and had the hood pulled up. Bucky raised an eyebrow when he saw that. Tony shrugged.

“I like this outfit. And you don’t use the mask anymore. And by the way, using my powers while being in the suit would be uncomfortable.” 

They all nodded and Bruce looked questioningly around.

“I suppose you will train in pair as always?” 

They all nodded slowly. Then Tony frowned. 

“Where is Remy?” 

None of the others seemed to know so Wanda answered:

“He said he would go play some piano while we were training. I tried to get him down here but he said he didn’t want to intrude.” 

Tony sighed.

“Friday. Can you tell Remy to get his ass down here?” 

“Surely boss.” 

They all waited. Around two minutes later Remy stepped out of the elevator. 

“What is it Tony?” 

Tony went over to him and said:

“I know for a fact that you want to help us with Ross and those Dark Avengers. And that means you are going to train with us.” 

The cajun hesitated but then he nodded. 

“Fine.” 

Bruce went away from them and looked them over with a tilted head. 

“How many of you have not been here for Avengers training? The old Avengers training.” 

Wanda, Sam, Bucky, Rhodey, T’Challa and Remy raised their hands. Bruce nodded. 

“All right. It’s simple. I divide you into pairs. You go against each other in those pairs. Rules are simple too. No lasting damage to the one you fight. You win when the other person gives up. Everything clear?” 

They all nodded. Then the door to the elevator opened and Sharon stepped out. 

“Would you mind if I joined?” 

Steve took a step towards her but before he could do more she was being hugged by Tony. 

“It’s good to have you back Shari. How was Malibu?” 

She smiled and hugged him back. 

“Not bad. But it gets lonely in such big house very quickly. Don’t know how you managed to live there alone.” 

Tony let her go and shrugged.

“I was mostly in the workshop.” 

Then Clint made an almost strangled sound. 

“You two know each other that well?” 

Tony chuckled. 

“Peggy was my godmother. Of course I know Sharon. I’ve been at her place too many times to count.” 

Then Bruce stepped in. 

“As to the fighting. Of course you can join Sharon. We were making up the pairs right now.”

She nodded and Bruce continued.

“Okey. I’m not fighting. That’s obvious. Me and Pepper will watch you and be on medical standby.  And now to the pairs. Steve and Nat. Tony and Vision. Rhodey and Bucky. T’Challa and Clint. Sam and Sharon. Wanda and Remy. You fight in that order too. The others sit with me and Pepper on the couches over there.” 

Everyone nodded and Steve and Natasha went up on the stage while the others went over to the sofas. 

Bruce stood up for a few more seconds and said:

“All right. Three, two, one. Fight!” 

Then he sat down and everyone looked at Natasha and Steve. They were circling each other. Then Steve flung the shield at Natasha but she was faster. The shield flew over the rock she had hid behind. She quickly got out from behind the rock and attacked Steve with a stun gun, making him lose his balance and miss the returning shield. He tried to punch her in the stomach to get her away from him but she slunk in behind him and flipped herself onto his shoulders using his neck as leverage. She took a string out and put it around Steve’s neck. But this time he was ready and before she managed to pull the string back, he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. She flew but managed to break the fall by grabbing the wall she was flying past. She smirked at Steve and he didn’t realize why until his shield was flying at him. He managed to catch it but at the same second Natasha was next to him and flipped around his arm getting her legs around his throat. She used her body weight and Steve’s momentary confusion to flip them onto the floor and pin Steve down. 

“I give up.” 

His voice was strained and it was explained why when Natasha let go of him and he dragged in a shaky breath. She had been strangling him with her legs. Suddenly, Remy got new respect for the spy. They applauded while Natasha and Steve came down from the stage. 

“Tony, Viz. You’re up.” 

They went onto the stage. Bruce counted down and sat down. This time it was different. Tony fired his power at Vision almost immediately. The force and surprise made Vision fly backwards. But instead of hitting the walls as Tony had hoped he phased through them and managed to dodge the next attacks. He fired from his stone towards Tony but the man had already put a shield up. Dust was flying around them but the mask was blocking it and making it possible for Tony to breathe. He kept blocking Vision’s attacks and backed a bit but meanwhile he was levitating a rock towards the android. Then he pulled at the rock with all his power. Vision got knocked onto the floor and Tony was next to him a second later and used his power to hold him down. Vision struggled for a few seconds but then he stilled. 

“I give up.” 

Tony let go and extended a hand towards Vision.

“To be honest, I had no idea if it would work.” 

Once again everyone applauded. Rhodey and Bucky went onto the stage while Tony and Vision sat down. Bruce counted down and Rhodey shot up into the air. But when he looked down to the place where Bucky had been, the Soldier was gone. Bucky quickly made his way around the stage and made sure to keep behind Rhodey all the time. Some of the sitting ones chuckled. Then Rhodey got a bit dizzy because of the spinning around and stilled for a second. It was all Bucky needed. He used the same gun he had taken the Falcon down with and pulled Rhodey down onto the ground. He used his metal arm to keep Rhodey on the ground and Rhodey laughed. 

“You win!” 

There were laughs heard from the couches. Some people stated that it went really fast. Bucky helped Rhodey up and as soon as they left the stage Rhodey stepped out of the suit that then closed and walked to stand next to a wall. Meanwhile T’Challa and Clint were already on the stage. Once again Bruce counted down. Immediately Clint fired an explosive arrow at T’Challa making the Panther take cover behind one of the walls. It gave Clint enough time to use another arrow to lift himself onto one of the hanging platforms. He then fired another arrow at T’Challa. It flew toward the man and Clint quickly fastened the rope that was flying behind the arrow to the platform. It stuck on the hiding T’Challa and propelled him into the air. He hung in between the platform and the ground with no way of getting away. Slashing the ropes would mean a dangerous fall. Trying to get onto the platform was out of question.

“Damn it! I give!” 

“YES!”

Clint slowly let the rope get longer and lowered T’Challa onto the ground and then used the same rope to get down himself. They shook their hands. It had been a short but good match. Sam and Sharon stepped onto the stage. Their fight started very differently. Sharon attacked with short kicks that Sam avoided by getting up into the air. It was a cat and mouse game until Sharon managed to punch him in the stomach. He quickly spun her around and flew up while holding her one hand. She tried to get some kind of leverage against him, but in the air she was defenseless. 

“Fine. You win.” 

He flew down and gently put her on the ground. 

“Of course I do.” 

They went down and Remy stepped up with Wanda. He was holding his staff in his hand and looked overly calm and arrogant. As soon as Bruce counted down Wanda fired her power at him but he easily avoided it. He smirked. 

“Don’t hold back on me cherie.” 

She quickly lifted one of the bigger rocks and made it fly towards him. His eyes flashed purple when his staff hit the rock. It exploded sending small stones flying everywhere. Tony had to put up a shield in front of the couches so that none of the stones would hit the audience. Wanda was a bit irritated by Remy’s arrogant smirk. She sent five more rocks at him but they were met by the same fate. She then changed her tactic and let her energy fly forward in a big area like she had seen young Tony do on that video. It knocked Remy backwards but the hit didn’t seem to affect him because he stood up and his eyes flashed again.

“Fine then. My turn.” 

He sent charged cards towards her but she managed to put up a shield. Then he hit his staff against one of the rocks. The rock exploded and while the stones were flying he used his staff to charge them up and send them flying towards Wanda. While she was blocking them he hit his staff on the ground and sent the kinetic energy through the ground. It sent everything in it’s path up flying. That meant Wanda too. She flew through the room and fell on the ground with a grunt. Remy slowly went over. He knew that the blast had been strong. He stood over Wanda and put one end of his staff against the throat. She smiled.

“I give up.” 

He smiled back and helped her up. She reached up and got some small stones from his hair. When they were all off the stage again Bruce said:

“That was a good training. An hour for showering and then lunch?” 

They all nodded and went over to the elevator. Most of them were sweaty and hungry. Tony looked around. Maybe it would all be good again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo. What do you think about the training? Which pair was your favorite?


	27. New Threat

Remy was sitting by the piano and playing the lullaby. Wanda slowly went in and sat down next to him. They sat like that for a long moment with only the soft melody filling the room. Then she smiled.

“You did really good job today.”

He smirked.

“Trust me cherie when I say that you are not the strongest opponent I’ve faced.”

She glanced down towards his chest. He noticed it and sighed. He didn’t like to talk about those scars. But for some odd reason he trusted her.

“After Creed slashed me I lost the will to do anything. I crawled into a corner on a dirty street and laid down. I didn’t care anymore. The wounds got dirty and infected. I was dying when Stryker found me.”

Wanda was terrified. He had been so ready to die. He was so close to death. She put her hand on his and the music stopped. He looked over to her. She was different than any other girls he had ever met. She didn’t push him for details. And she didn’t seem to hate him for what he had done, which made him want to tell her everything. But he knew that he couldn’t. She would leave if she knew. He smiled at her and stood up.

“Come on cherie. Lunch is probably ready.”

When they arrived on Tony’s floor everyone were already there. Natasha, Sam and Pepper were moving the food over to the table while Tony and Bruce played chess. It seemed to be a very even match. Remy went over there and looked over the board quickly. He moved down and whispered something in Tony’s ear. That made Tony take a long look at the board and face palm.

“Thanks Remy.”

Bruce made an annoyed sound.

“That’s cheating.”

Remy just smirked.

“And who said I’m playing fair?”

That caught Clint’s attention.

“You play cards? Or just throw them?”

Remy pulled a deck out.

“Why do you think they call me Gambit? Stryker’s men could never win over me. Kept taking their money.”

Clint almost choked on his own saliva.

“S...Stryker?! You know Stryker?!”

Everyone quieted. Tony, Natasha and Vision, who had Jarvis memories, watched the others reactions since they already knew. Wanda looked curiously towards Remy. She had heard him talking about Stryker but didn’t know who the man was. Sam, Sharon, Clint and Rhodey were openly staring at the cajun. Those prisoners had been treated badly. From the things that the soldiers from the rescue mission had said, the mutants that were freed were in rough shape. They had been all talking about a prisoner that escaped. About the things that had been done to him in front of them. No one dared to disobey after the show they got. And all of them talked about how the man had refused to break whatever was done to him. T’Challa had heard about Stryker and his experiments when his father joined the UN. Pepper had read the papers about Stryker and so had Steve and Bruce. The only one that didn’t understand what was going on was Bucky. Remy felt uncomfortable with all eyes on him.

“Gambit was in Stryker’s prison for some time. He was being held and hurt but he got away.”

Tony froze. It was never good when the cajun distanced himself from the world so much that he started to talk about himself in third person. The others seemed confused by the sudden change and Tony realized that he maybe should have warned them. But before he could say anything Natasha stepped in.

“Lunch is ready. And I think I might know how to get all of us to get along a bit more.”

One by one they all sat down. Remy took the place next to Wanda and relaxed visibly when Natasha took the chair on his other side. Nat felt confused since people usually got more worried when she sat next to them. Tony grabbed the opportunity to change the topic and asked:

“And your idea is…?”

She smirked and some of the Avengers groaned. A smirking Natasha never meant anything good. She swallowed the food she had in her mouth and answered lightly.

“Well I just remembered how we all had trouble being with each other as friends in the beginning of Avengers. We had those game days or movie nights to bond. Maybe we should do a game day after lunch.”

Steve protested.

“Shouldn’t we train to be able to beat those Dark Avengers?”

Natasha and, to some people’s surprise, Sharon shot him deadly looks.

“No. If we don’t become a group that can act friendly towards each other on a daily basis I’m not sure if I would want any of you watching my back when things get difficult.”

Sam nodded suddenly.

“Natasha is right. Bonding exercises might help us get over some of the animosity. And maybe we could find out some more about each other in the meantime.”

Slowly everyone nodded. Tony was grateful. He had missed those game days and he knew that many of the others had too.

“What are we going to play?”

“Not poker.”

Tony’s quick answer made Remy almost choke on his water when he burst out laughing. But it was not the honest laugh that Tony knew. It was Gambit’s laugh. The arrogant mask was firmly in place.

“What? You afraid Gambit will beat you?”

Tony shook his head.

“Nah. I’m afraid you’ll cheat again.”

His eyes widened.

“Remy does not cheat. It’s not his fault that you can’t play as good as he can.”

“Yeah. Whatever Cajun.”

Once again Natasha stepped in.

“I was thinking that all of us should tell something more about ourselves so that we can avoid any repeatings of the fight we had. Maybe Truth or Dare?”

Some groans were heard.

“What are we? Twelve?”

Natasha glared over at Clint and he quieted. She kept glaring at everyone that tried to say anything against her. In the end everyone nodded.

“Fine. After we have eaten then. The living room here on my floor?”

Another set of nods and everyone went back to eating. Some of them were glancing over to the cajun who was eating quickly as if he was afraid someone might take the food away from him. When Tony, who had been in a serious conversation with T’Challa and Pepper, noticed that he rolled his eyes.

“Cajun.”

Remy’s head snapped up.

“Slow down.”

The man seemed to be taken aback. He looked down at his plate and then back to Tony.

“Right. Remy will take it slow.”

His eating then slowed down and Tony returned to his conversation. Clint was now thinking about the time in circus. When they had to eat quickly or the food would be stolen from them. And with the man so openly admitting he was a thief…

“You been on the streets for a long time?”

Remy looked confused so Clint decided to tell the truth.

“I’ve lived in a circus once. Quite small thing.”

Something like recognition appeared in the cajun’s eyes.

“Remy was thrown out of the orphanage when he was five.”

“You were born on the ba… be…”

Remy smirked.

“Bayou?”

Clint nodded.

“Well, not exactly ON the bayou. Or at least he doesn’t think so. Remy didn't live with his parents.”

Something didn’t add up to Clint.

“You lived in Louisiana right?”

One of Remy’s eyebrows shot up.

“Is this an interrogation?”

Clint held his hands up.

“I’m curious. I’m trying to get to know you. Give me something to work with.”

And that was when Tony looked away from his conversation again.

“He is curious why you aren’t using french.”

Then he turned from them again. Remy smirked.

“Remy doesn’t know pure french. They used cajun french and english where he grew up. He uses french when it fits.”

They had finished eating and Tony stood up.

“I’m going to the workshop. Call me up when we start the games.”

Then he went out. Remy quickly stood up too and went over to the sink with his plate and glass. He rinsed them out and headed towards the door.

“Remy will go talk with Tony.”

The elevator took him down to the workshop. He stepped out and punched in the code for the glass door.

“Quoi ca die?”

Tony smiled.

“You don’t trust them?”

Remy glared.

“Fine, fine. But you know I don’t know cajun. So either pure french or english.”

“What’s going on?”

Tony waved his hand and Friday pulled up some holograms.

“I researched a bit yesterday. There were some files there that they kept hidden. Even from you. The Dark Avengers aren’t the only threat now. Ross is getting together more people. I’m not sure if you will like what I found.”

“Remy is listening.”

Tony hesitated and then pulled up five pictures onto the screens. Remy went white.

“Non.”

Tony put a hand on the cajuns shoulder.

“I’m sorry Remy. We have to tell them but I wanted you to know first.”

The young man closed his eyes.

“All this time. And now they…”

He opened his eyes and looked more calm now.

“Let’s go then.”

At the same second Friday said:

“Natasha asks you to come up.”

They went over to the elevator and Friday took them back to Tony’s floor. But before the doors opened Tony turned to Remy.

“You can trust them Remy. I promise. I trust them. I never stopped trusting them and I will never stop.”

Remy met his eyes.

“A thief knows it’s dangerous to trust too much.”

“What about Wanda?”

That made the cajun freeze for a second. He pulled out a card and started to play with it. Tony’s eyes widened when he realized that it was the Queen of Hearts. Then Remy put his hand on the door and it slid open. Tony slowly followed him into the living room. Everyone turned to them. They were all sitting on couches and armchairs around the low table where someone had put bowls with chips and other sweets. Remy went over to Wanda who was keeping a seat for him on the loveseat. Tony squeezed himself in between Sharon and Vision. Wanda moved a bit closer to Remy and asked quietly:

“You fine?”

He nodded while Natasha was explaining the rules of the game. He was fine. At least in the way she was asking. What Tony had said and shown him was rough. But he had been through worse. Tony was thinking back on the information he had found. Would they manage to… But then he slightly shook his head. They would. They would win this. He had faith in his family.


	28. Truth Or Dare

****

“So. Who starts?” 

Clint’s hand shot up. 

“ME!” 

Natasha rolled her eyes. Clint reached over and spun the bottle. It kept spinning for a few seconds before it landed on Natasha. She shrugged and said calmly:

“Truth.” 

Clint whined. 

“But I already know everything about you!” 

Natasha just smirked. Clint was thinking deeply. He knew almost everything about Natasha. What could he… Oh! A grin spread across his face. 

“Why did you kiss Tony?” 

But Natasha’s calm was not rubbed even an inch. 

“I like him.” 

Then she reached to the table and got the bottle spinning again. It landed on Tony.  He smiled. 

“Should I be scared?” 

She just tilted her head. 

“Truth then.” 

“How old were you when you figured out about your powers?” 

He thought for a few seconds.

“I was almost two. Not so long before I met Winter the first time.” 

She nodded and he spun the bottle. Remy almost groaned when it landed on him. 

“Merde!” 

Tony’s grin was almost scary. 

“What do you chose Cajun?” 

Remy seemed to seriously think it through. Whatever he chose he knew that Tony would not go easy on him. They knew each other too well. 

“Dare.” 

Tony’s laugh was almost evil. 

“Sing your favorite song.” 

This time he groaned. 

“Damn you Stark.” 

He knew which song Tony meant. And he knew that he had a nice voice when he was singing. Victor had… No. He was not going there. He stood up and pulled a deck of cards out.

“You want the special effects too?” 

Tony nodded. He wanted to make Remy serenade Wanda but then figured out that it would most probably just scare both the Cajun and the girl off. 

“Friday. Play song number one on Remy’s personal playlist. Just the music.” 

The melody started immediately. Remy took a deep breath and started to sing. 

_ “On a warm summer’s eve _

_ On a train bound for nowhere _

_ I met up with a gambler _

_ We were both too tired to sleep _

_ So we took turns a-starin’ _

_ Out the window at the darkness  _

_ The boredom overtook us,  _

_ And he began to speak.”  _

Everyone, except for Tony and Vision who had heard him before, were stunned. His voice was beautiful. Smooth and pleasant. His cajun accent made the song sound like some exotic lullaby. He started to slowly shuffle the cards. 

_ “He said, ‘Son, I’ve made a life  _

_ Out of readin’ people’s faces  _

_ Knowin’ what the cards were  _

_ By the way they held their eyes _

_ So if you don’t mind me sayin’  _

_ I can see you’re out of aces  _

_ For a taste of your whiskey  _

_ I’ll give you some advice’.”  _

Clint tilted his head a bit. He was wondering if that was something the man was relating to. If he had gained his knowledge about cards from someone. Natasha was a bit confused. She had seen both Tony’s and Wanda’s eyes change color while they were using their power. But Remy’s eyes were still brown even though the cards he was now flipping around were very clearly defying the laws of gravity in every way possible. 

_ “So I handed him my bottle _

_ And he drank down my last swallow  _

_ Then he bummed a cigarette  _

_ And asked me for a light  _

_ And the night got deathly quiet  _

_ And his face lost all expression  _

_ He said, ‘If you’re gonna play the game, boy  _

_ You gotta learn to play it right.”  _

Tony smiled. He knew fully well that Remy had learned to play the game right. He was the best one around. Both as a gamer and as a thief. And adding his mutation on it as well as his upbringing on the streets made him a dangerous opponent. 

_ “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em  _

_ Know when to fold ’em  _

_ Know when to walk away  _

_ And know when to run  _

_ You never count your money  _

_ When you’re sittin’ at the table  _

_ There’ll be time enough for countin’  _

_ When the dealin’s done.”  _

The cards were now skipping from one of his hands to the other. Some of them were making a few flips in the air before they landed in his hand. Many of the Avengers were almost hypnotized. Tony felt a bit worried about that but decided to not say anything. He knew how Remy was struggling every second to keep that part of his mutation in check. Now, when no one could get hurt, Tony decided to let the man release the hold he had on his power. Remy’s eyes had closed and his hands were flipping the cards almost automatically. 

_ “Every gambler knows  _

_ That the secret to survivin’  _

_ Is knowin’ what to throw away  _

_ And knowin’ what to keep  _

_ ‘Cause every hand’s a winner  _

_ And every hand’s a loser  _

_ And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep.”  _

Remy was feeling good. He felt his shields slowly let the power sip out and he almost panicked. His eyes snapped open. He could not let it happen. He quickly pulled the power back and put the shields up. That made him almost miss four of the flying cards but he collected himself before anyone noticed. But Tony had noticed. He knew the exact moment the power was drawn back. The others were still looking at Remy but not in the same hypnotized way. None of them seemed to realize what had just happened. 

_ “And when he finished speakin’  _

_ He turned back toward the window  _

_ Crushed out his cigarette  _

_ And faded off to sleep  _

_ And somewhere in the darkness  _

_ The gambler he broke even  _

_ But in his final words  _

_ I found an ace that I could keep.”  _

Tony realized that he never asked Remy who had given him that ace. He remembered asking the cajun if he had really gotten help from anyone and the man had answered that he had gotten an ace. Wanda was watching Remy with a smile. He looked so calm while he was singing. 

_ “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em  _

_ Know when to fold ‘em  _

_ Know when to walk away  _

_ And know when to run  _

_ You never count your money  _

_ When you’re sittin’ at the table  _

_ There’ll be time enough for countin’  _

_ When the dealin’s done.”  _

Clint was the first one that started to applaud. Sharon, Wanda and Natasha followed his lead a second later. In the end everyone were applauding. Remy bowed a bit and went back to his seat. Sam smiled. 

“You have a nice voice Cajun.” 

Remy smiled back. 

“Thank you. Victor always…” 

He suddenly froze. He couldn’t go there. Not now. He quickly leaned towards the bottle and put his hand on it. He knew that Tony was staring at him. He knew that Tony knew that Creed’s name was Victor. But Tony didn’t know. Not about what Victor had done.

“Remy!” 

He looked down onto the bottle and noticed that it was glowing purple. Quickly he dragged the energy back and spun the bottle. 

“Remy’s  sorry.” 

The bottle landed on Sharon. He felt that maybe luck was on his side again. 

“I’ll take a truth. But go easy on me.” 

He smirked. 

“Why would Remy do that? But fine. How old were you when you had your first kiss?” 

Sharon frowned. 

“Around twelve.” 

She spun the bottle. It landed on Sam. 

“Dare.” 

Sharon’s smirk was almost as scary as Natashas. 

“Steal something from Natasha.” 

Chuckles were heard around the room. It was impossible to take anything from Natasha. Everyone knew that. She always noticed. Sam groaned but stood up and went over to an open space with Natasha. Sharon handed her a wallet and Natasha put it in the pocket of her hoodie. Then she put a phone in the back pocket of her jeans. Sharon gave out instructions. 

“Okey. Natasha go stand behind the empty couch facing us. Act as if you are in a store and are looking at something. Sam you have to get the wallet and phone from her without her noticing. With you standing like that Nat we’ll be able to see you two from the front.” 

Natasha put herself in place and Sam stood a bit from her. Then Sharon told them to go ahead and Sam started to sneak up on Natasha. Everyone noticed how Remy almost burst out laughing. Sam then reached out to take the phone that was sticking out of Natasha’s pocket. As soon as his fingers grazed the phone she turned around and got him in a headlock. Everyone laughed. Sam put his hands up in defeat and Natasha let him go. But before they went over to their places Tony said quickly:

“Wait.” 

He then pointed at Remy. He understood immediately. He stood up and sighed. 

“If you insist.” 

He then went over to Sam and put an arm around his shoulders. 

“Watch and learn.” 

Sam went back to his place and Natasha turned to the others again. Remy tilted his head slowly and smiled. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he went over to Natasha and stopped next to her. When he spoke his voice was filled with charm.

“Bonjour mademoiselle. It’s a beautiful day right?” 

Natasha snapped her head towards him and checked her pockets. The things were still there. She slowly put her hands down and smiled back at him. 

“Yes it is. Can I help you with anything?” 

He smiled with embarrassment. 

“Actually yes. I’m a bit lost. How could I get to the theatre? I was supposed to meet my sister there but I am not from around here.” 

Natasha, and everyone else, had to admit that he was very convincing and no one even noticed that he was making things up. 

“Well then. You have to go straight down this road and then left when you see the shoe store.” 

He bowed his head a bit. 

“Merci mademoiselle.” 

He went past her and returned to his seat. Natasha smirked. 

“Not that good ri…” 

She double checked her pockets again. The phone and wallet were gone. Everyone’s eyes widened. 

“How…?” 

Tony and Remy burst out laughing while Remy helt the two objects up. He placed them on the table and then turned to Sam. 

“By the way. Is this yours?” 

The thief held up Sam’s phone. He patted his pocket. 

“When…?” 

The answer was easy. 

“When you weren’t expecting it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mention it in this chapter but who do you think the five people that are the new threat will be?


	29. Remy's Story

Sam took his phone from Remy and leaned forward to spin the bottle but before he managed to do that the door opened and Fury marched in. Tony smiled widely. 

“Nicky! Just in time for a game!” 

But Fury just looked at him with an annoyed face expression. 

“I don’t have time for that Stark. We have a…” 

He seemed to, for once, be totally put off balance when he noticed Remy. 

“You?!” 

Remy tilted his head. 

“You know Remy?” 

His voice was calm but they could hear that he was surprised. Fury stared at him for a few more seconds and then he shook his head. 

“Not really. I read Stryker’s files.” 

“Oh.” 

Tony noticed that the thief was getting uncomfortable so he quickly dragged Fury’s attention to himself. 

“What was it you came with Nick?” 

Remy threw him a thankful look. Fury went over to the table and put a file on it. 

“You wrote to me last night about the files that Ross had about people in UN. He had one file. Igor Malikov. Russian delegate. Worked for KGB in Russia. He got away from them. When he got to the States he was blackmailed by Ross into joining Hydra. Juliette Babineaux. French delegate. She had been in jail for theft, abuse and arson. She didn’t want anyone to find out. Same story here. Ross blackmailed her. The other people are gone. Three died. One was captured by KGB when Hydra sent him on a mission to Russia. Five gave up their places as delegates, took their families and hid. That’s all I could find on them.” 

They had all straightened a bit when he was talking. The game was now over. The serious business had started. Tony opened the file and pulled out two photographs. A man with short blonde hair and green eyes was glaring at them from one of them. On the other was a pale woman with long black hair and dark blue eyes. She looked pretty good but in her eyes was something crazy. Tony sighed. 

“Remy? Can I talk with you for a second?” 

The thief nodded and followed Tony into the elevator. The doors closed and Tony turned to him. 

“You still don’t trust them.” 

It wasn’t a question so Remy didn’t say anything. Tony sighed again. 

“We’ll have to tell them. They need to know what we are up against. And you are the one that can give us the best information.” 

Remy looked away. He knew that. But to have so many people that he had to live with judge him. Tony must’ve understood what he was thinking about because he put a hand on Remy’s shoulder. 

“They won’t judge you Remy. Many of us have done things in the past that we regret. Pepper is most probably the only clean person in there. But you don’t see us judging each other. They won’t hate you.” 

Remy dragged in a breath. 

“They will hate Remy. Remy knows that.” 

Tony looked at him for a long time and then said calmly:

“Let the shields down.” 

If anyone else had told him to do that he wouldn’t have listened. But he trusted Tony not to use it against him. He slowly created a connection with Tony and sent his feelings over to him without lowering his shields at all. Tony staggered backwards when he felt the fear that was coming towards him from the cajun. He had trouble taking in a breath and felt almost as if he was going to have a panic attack. Remy quickly cut the connection between them and the fear disappeared. Tony looked at him with wide eyes. How could that man keep so calm face when he was so scared? Tony took a deep breath. 

“I promise Remy. No one will hate you.” 

Then, after a moment of silence, he asked:

“Have you told anyone?” 

Ramy nodded slowly.

“Natasha and Wanda.” 

“And how did they react?” 

That made the thief stop and think for a minute. 

“Wanda doesn’t seem to care. Natasha was angry in the beginning but then apologized and asked Remy to explain.” 

Tony smiled.

“You see.” 

It was quiet for some more time and then the thief nodded. The elevator door opened and they went out. Tony went back to his seat while Remy flopped down onto the loveseat. Fury had already sat down on the empty sofa. Tony cleared his throat and they all turned to him. 

“There is something I need to tell you about Ross plans. But before I start Remy will tell you something. It will make you understand the whole thing better.” 

He leaned back and Remy took a deep breath. When he started to talk they all noticed that he was once again talking in first person. 

“As I’ve already told you I lived on the streets as a child. I became a master thief and was stealing all the time. New Orleans was run by two guilds. Thieves and Assassins. They had been fighting with each other for ages. But then there was a marriage between Bella Donna Boudreaux and Henri LeBeau. It made the two guilds come together. One day I tried to pickpocket Jean-Luc LeBeau. He was the leader of Thieves Guild. I thought he would kill me when he grabbed me then but he took me home, gave me a surname and a family. But they didn’t like it when I used the charging part of my mutation. Then one day Julien, Bella Donna’s brother, challenged me to a fight. I was only using my bo-staff in the beginning. But then he suddenly had me pinned to a wall. I swung my staff and didn’t even realize that the adrenaline had made me charge it. When I hit him it all exploded. He was severely burned. I was put on trial. When you hurt someone from the top the punishment is death. The fact that Jean-Luc had given me his name and that Julien woke up and said that he didn’t hold it against me were the only reasons why I wasn’t executed back then. I was 16 then. I fled and lived on the streets of Baton Rouge. Moved from one place to another. Learned to really play cards. Use my mutation to win. That way I ended up in New York. But then, when I was 18, I lost control again. Destroyed so much that it was a miracle that no one was hurt then. I sought help of the only person who I had knowledge of. Sinister.” 

A few persons gasped. They all knew about Sinister. He had been the most dangerous man for a very long time before he suddenly disappeared. Remy pressed on without taking notice of their reactions. 

“Sinister told me he would help me but I would have to pay off the debt by working for him for some time. I agreed. He took away a part of my brain tissue. It gave me much more control over my powers. That was when I started to charge the cards and throw them. I hadn’t thought about that before. I worked for him for some time and in the beginning he didn’t ask for anything serious. Some stealing. Kidnapping someone sometimes. Mostly mutants. I got to know Victor Creed, also known as Sabretooth. We became something like friends. Or as much as a beast like him can be friend. Then Sinister said that I had one last assignment and then the debt would be payed. He told me to get together a team of mutant assassins and mutants with broken moral compassess. So me and Creed went out. We got a team together. The Marauders. Back then it was a big team. Me and Creed were like leaders. Then we had Arclight, Riptide, Scalphunter, Sunfire, Blockbuster, Lady Mastermind, Vertigo, Prism and Scrambler. I got the orders to lead them down to the Morlocks tunnels. I did it. I thought it would maybe be some beating up. Maybe stealing and kidnapping. I was the only one who knew how to get down to the tunnels without raising suspicion. When we got there…” 

His voice suddenly broke. Everyone was staring at him with different faces. Clint, Fury, Steve and Bruce seemed to be a bit angry. Sharon, Sam and Bucky had more understanding expressions. Pepper and Rhodey trusted the fact that Tony trusted the cajun. Their faces were filled with horror because of what the man had been through. Tony and Vision were watching everyone else. Natasha was listening but kept her face blank. Wanda was sitting close to Remy. When he stopped talking she reached out and took his head. Her thumb moved over the top of his hand and the friction calmed him down. She didn’t really understand what kinetic energy was but she understood that it had something to do with motion. The movement was something he could concentrate on and he slowly moved on with his story.

“I let them in and they attacked the Morlocks. They had let their guard down when they saw me. I was living with the Morlocks sometimes. And when they attacked... I didn’t know. To the last second I didn’t know. They attacked and for almost a whole minute I was too stunned to understand what was going on. When I realized what was going on I tried to help the Morlocks. But Creed got to me. I managed to fight him for some time. But then he got close enough to slash me. I couldn’t fight. So I grabbed one of the children that was alive and escaped through a smaller tunnel. I managed to collapse it behind us before anyone followed. I left her in a safe house and told them to contact Xavier. I had heard about him back then. Even Sinister was afraid of him. Then I crawled into a corner and waited for death. Instead I was found by Stryker.” 

It was quiet for long time. Then Clint slowly asked:

“That’s where you have the scars from?” 

Remy nodded. Then suddenly Wanda looked around and asked with a strong voice:

“Anyone have anything against Remy?” 

Slowly, one by one, they all shook their heads. Remy looked shocked. Then Bucky turned towards Tony. 

“You said that this was something that would make us understand something.” 

Tony nodded. 

“Yesterday I got some information from Friday. Ross is not only putting the Dark Avengers together. He is assembling the living Marauders as we speak.” 

Silence drew out over a long time before Steve turned to Remy. 

“You have any idea which ones are alive? Can you tell us about them? Their powers, fighting styles, anything.” 

Remy, although still shocked that they didn’t hate him or try to throw him out, nodded. He would do anything to get the Marauders. Especially Creed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think about the new threat? Do you think the Avengers will be able to survive this?


	30. He Is Gone

“Only five of them are alive.” 

Friday pulled up the photos of a woman. 

“Philippa Sontag. Called Arclight. She can create seismic energy with her hands. Makes shock waves and geo tremors. She has superhuman strength. And I don’t mean like Captain or Winter. More like Hulk. She is more durable than most and more resistant when it comes to punches. She has also more stamina which means that she can tire you out very easily. She is not immune to mental manipulation. When she fights she will keep you at a distance. Even though she is strong she hates hand to hand combat. If you can get close enough it should put her off balance.” 

He looked around for questions. Steve was the first one to ask.

“Those shock waves. How strong are they?” 

Remy thought for a second. 

“I’ve never been on the receiving end of them. I was the kid of the group even though I was the leader. But she did manage to throw Blockbuster down a few times and he had gone against Thor once and lived to tell the tale. So I would advise you to avoid her blasts at any cost.” 

“What about me and Wanda? Would our power be able to stop hers?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“It might be enough. But no one has ever tried. Other mutants tend to not want to fight her.” 

When no more questions came he continued while Friday put up the next picture. 

“Janos Quested. Riptide. Just as dangerous as Arclight. Maybe even more. He can spin his body at an inhuman speed. But that’s not all. He can also make his bones grow through his skin and leave his body. They mostly form into shurikens or spikes. He then throws them. The speed he uses to do it makes them lethal. I’ve seen myself how they pierced through steel without any problems. He fights from a distance but he is just as lethal in hand to hand.” 

The Avengers felt their hearts drop. Remy had only mentioned two of the five and already it seemed that fighting them would be close to impossible. Sam asked slowly:

“Is there ANY way to beat him?” 

Remy nodded. 

“I can think of one thing. His spikes can’t pierce through vibranium. So I guess the shield would allow you to get close to him. But I don’t know how to get him to stop move. Once you’ve done that it shouldn’t be hard to get him down.” 

T’Challa was thinking quickly. Then he spoke up with a questioning voice:

“My suit is made of vibranium.” 

That got Remy’s attention.

“All of it?” 

The king nodded. Steve smiled.

“Whatever they can do we can beat them. As long as we stay together.” 

Some of them seemed to be surprised that Steve had changed so much on so short time but they didn't question it. Remy nodded towards one of the cameras and Friday brought up next picture. 

“Shiro Yoshida. Sunfire. He absorbs the sun's energy and transforms it into plasmatic blasts. He can also ionize the air underneath him and blast it to create something like a rocket effect. He can warm up the air around him and melt even the most resistant steel. He can also use the heat and fire he creates to make a force bubble around himself. It makes it impossible for him to be hit by other powers.” 

Clint smirked. 

“We'll just have to catch him in a dark place.” 

Remy shook his head.

“He can change his vision into infrared and see your body heat.” 

“Then how can we beat him?” 

Remy simply looked at Bruce. The doctor titled his head.

“I know that the Other Guy is fireproof. But I don't know HOW fireproof.” 

Rhodey smiled. 

“If I fly around him and distract him you will be able to get close to him before he can fully charge.” 

A few nods were seen around the room. Friday took that as a sign to continue. A picture of a woman with long green hair appeared. Remy smiled a bit. 

“Vertigo. A Savage Land Mutate.” 

Clint snorted. 

“Vertigo? What will she make us dizzy?” 

“Something like that.” 

Clint burst out laughing but stopped after a few seconds. 

“Wait. You are serious?” 

Remy nodded. 

“Vertigo is a genetically enhanced native of the Savage Land. She sends out her energy in waves. It affects people’s nervous systems. Can make you dizzy, disoriented, unconscious. She can make you feel nauseous and even throw up. Iggy… Vertigo is another of them that I have not gone against when it comes to powers. But there was one time when me and Vic… Creed were playing quite roughly with each other. She wanted to step in between us and lost control for a few seconds. Got all the Marauders on their knees so dizzy that they couldn’t walk in a straight line for a few hours. My mental shield blocked her power so I was unharmed.” 

He smiled as he thought back to those days. When everything was fine. Fury kept his eye on the cajun and then asked:

“And how can we know we can trust you when it comes to them?” 

Everyone’s heads snapped over to the director. Remy sat up straight and pulled his hand away from Wanda. Now THIS, this was what he had been expecting. Before he answered Tony spoke up.

“I trust him Fury. With my life.” 

But it seemed that Fury would not be backing down. 

“The way he speaks about them. The nicknames. If he doesn’t feel any connection to them then I am not Fury. How can we trust that he won’t hesitate when he fights them?” 

Tony stood up. 

“Because I say he won’t. I know him better than any of you. And I know that he won’t join them again.” 

Fury stood up he too. 

“You know him? What do you know. The things he told you? He is a thief and a liar. He can fool you if he wants. He should never have left Sinister. He is one of them. We CAN NOT trust him unless he gives a good reason to why.” 

Suddenly Remy stood up and went over to the elevator. The doors opened but before he stepped in he turned around and said with a calm voice. 

“You are right. I should never have left.”

Then he went into the elevator. Tony turned to Fury. The blue power was now surrounding him. Fury took a step back. 

“Stark.” 

But Tony didn’t hold back. The power exploded sending Fury flying through the room. Steve, Sam, Bucky and Clint were met by the same fate when they stood up to try to calm Tony. The rest of them were sitting completely still. Slowly Tony calmed down. 

“If something happens to him you can count me out of the Avengers and this group. Friday. Where is he?” 

“I’m sorry boss. He took his motorbike and left.” 

Tony swore so violently that some of the Avengers looked at him with horrified expressions. 

“Call Logan, Fri.” 

They heard a few signals go through the room and then a gruff voice answered. 

“This better be important Stark.” 

Tony immediately went to the point. 

“I had Remy in the Tower. Some asshole told him that he was maybe better off with Sinister. Now Remy is gone.” 

There was silence on the other side. 

“Logan?” 

“I’m here. Gumbo is a grown up. He can take care of himself. Sinister had been gone for some time now. He will be fine.” 

But Tony shook his head.

“Ross is putting the Marauders back together. Creed will be there.” 

“Victor? Damn! All right. I’ll look for him. That boy has a spicy scent. I should be able to find him soon.” 

The line went dead. Tony looked around with anger in his eyes before he marched out. Natasha got up and followed him quickly. When they got into the elevator Tony swayed and had to sit down. Natasha sat down next to him. 

“He’ll be fine Tony.”

But Tony didn’t seem to believe her. 

“I don’t wanna lose him too. I lost Jarvis, mom, Winter, Ana, Yinsen, then Jarvis again and  almost lost all of you.” 

She leaned against him a bit and put her head on his shoulder. 

“You won’t lose him Tony. I promise. He’ll be fine.” 

They were quiet for some time and then Tony whispered. 

“I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” 

She felt sadness at the hopelessness in his voice. She had to admit that she felt a bit uneasy with the thought that Remy may have some connection left with the Marauders. She had noticed how he had slipped with the nicknames and looked almost longing when he talked about them. But she also saw the anger in his eyes when he talked about the massacre. And she knew that whatever happened he would not side with them. They had missed their chance to have him on their side. Now Natasha was wondering if the Avengers hadn’t lost that chance too. And then there was Tony. He seemed to have a very strong connection with the thief. Natasha realized suddenly that even though they had seen a big part of Tony’s childhood, they still had no idea who the man really was. And then she realized something else. Remy had known. Remy even knew how to change the reactor. And that was one of the things Tony never showed anyone. They seemed to understand each other. 

“How did you meet him?” 

Tony smiled. 

“The idiot tried to steal one of my suits. He wanted to sell it for information about Creed and Stryker. Jarvis caught him. He was scared. I think he thought I would kill him or lock him down. So I told him about myself. I told him everything. From beginning to the end. He relaxed and told me about himself. I gave him the possibility to stay here and offered my help in finding Stryker. He accepted and stayed.” 

Natasha understood. They were two broken people that had found each other at their lowest. Tony after Afghanistan and Remy after Stryker. Then the door opened and the whole team and Pepper went inside. Fury was gone. They hesitated for a second but then Wanda went over to the two sitting and sat down on Tony’s other side. Slowly the other Avengers sat down in a big circle. No one spoke. No one needed to. For the first time since the Civil War they felt like a family again. 


	31. Logan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that I didn't post earlier but I have been away and not been able to use the computer.

 

Three days had gone with no word from Remy. Tony was a mess. He had locked himself in the workshop and refused to come out. Clint had to sneak in through the vents and check on him. He had reported back that Tony had been drinking Dummy’s smoothies and coffee and actually managed to sleep around three hours per night. On the fourth day Natasha and Pepper decided that it had to stop. They went down to the workshop together with Wanda and Bucky who had become Wanda’s shadow since Remy left. It had proven to be a good thing to do because she had lost control over her powers five times and everyone had a silent agreement to let Bucky deal with her since he seemed to have much experience in doing that. When the women and Bucky came to the workshop the door opened as soon as Natasha wrote in her code. Tony was sitting with his back to them. The music was blaring at the highest volume but it became quieter when they went in. That was when they noticed that Tony was talking.

“Not up. Come on Dummy! You know what? Keep still. No. Don’t move. DON’T MOVE! Fuck!”

They heard Dummy make a sad whirring noise and Tony sighed.

“Yeah I know. I’m sorry. It was my fault this time. You were good.”

They realized that he hadn’t noticed them yet so Pepper stepped forward.

“Tony?”

He whirled around and hit the table in the process. He swore when one of the machines he had been building fell to the floor and crashed into pieces. Natasha went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go upstairs Tony. You need to eat something more than Dummy’s smoothies. Although I have to admit that I am grateful that he is taking care of you when you forget to do that yourself.”

He was thinking for a long time so she used the ace she had.

“Clint is making that omelette you like so much.”

That caught his attention. He stood up and nodded.

“Fine. I’ll come upstairs. Log everything that makes any sense Fri.”

He followed them to the common floor that had been cleaned out after Fury had taken all the beaten Hydra soldiers away. They arrived in the kitchen just as Clint was putting the omelette over to the table. Fury was sitting at the table and speaking to Steve about how they could beat the Dark Avengers as well as the Marauders. Tony ignored them, went over to the food and sniffed in the air.

“That smells wonderful.”

Clint smirked and they all sat down. But just as they were going to start eating the door slammed open. In the opening stood a man with his hair sticking up on both sides almost like wolf ears. In his arms he held Remy. The cajuns feet were bandaged with wet rags and there were bandages around his left shoulder both wrists and his head. His hair was full of dried blood and his eyes were closed. Tony and Wanda shot up from their seats and rushed over to the newcomer. He growled at the girl but she didn’t stop. Natasha flew up from her seat just seconds later and said quickly:

“Put him on the couch in the other room. Clint. The medical kit. Now.”

While Clint and Bruce raced to the medical wing to get the kit, Tony and the new man had managed to get Remy settled on the couch. His eyes opened slowly and he looked confused for a second. Then he smiled painfully.

“Hello cherie.”

His voice was raspy and while he was coughing they all saw the red marks around his throat. The newcomer put a hand on the cajun’s neck. After a few seconds the coughing stopped. He leaned backwards again and sighed.

“Why did you bring me here?”

The man just growled but it seemed to be enough of an answer because Remy quieted. The man stood up and put himself behind the couch so Wanda went over and sat down so that Remy could put his head on her knees. She didn’t seem to mind the fact that he had blood in his hair and started to thread her fingers through it. That was when Clint and Bruce came back. Bruce went over to Remy but stopped when he saw how the cajun tried to move away from him. Tony sighed and took the medical kit from Bruce. He went over to the couch and asked the man behind it:

“What happened?”

The man growled before he answered.

“That idiot got himself captured by some Hydra idiots. He was tortured before I managed to get to him and get out of there.”

Tony simply nodded and that made the others understand that the time for questions would come later.

“What is worst?”

Another growl.

“His feet.”

Tony nodded. When he took the wet cloth away from one of the feet a few gasps were heard. The cajun’s feet were burned. Remy closed his eyes and concentrated on taking calming breaths. His face didn’t show any pain and the Avengers felt sudden respect for the cajun. With such extent of injuries he was bound to be in pain. The only reaction Tony got when he started to clean the injured feet was a purple flicker in Remy’s eyes. Tony cleaned both feet and they were all surprised by how good they looked.

“How long did you say you were tortured?”

Remy looked over to Natasha. He knew why she was asking.

“My mutation makes me heal faster if I concentrate enough on speeding it up. It isn’t as fast as Logan’s or Creed’s but it makes a difference. I should be able to have my feet fully healed by tomorrow. Or at least healed enough to be able to walk. I couldn’t fully heal them while I was there because I was spending more time over the fire than not. So back then I was simply working on keeping the burns from getting life threatening. The other cuts and bruises should take a few hours.”

Bruce was suddenly very confused.

“But if you can heal so fast why didn’t you heal those wounds on your chest before they got infected?”

Remy hissed when he felt Tony place a cool cloth on his feet but then took a deep breath and answered.

“I didn’t want them to heal. I wanted them to get infected. Coward’s way out.”

Bruce lowered his head for a few seconds. Suicide. In a way. When he told about it the first time it had looked as if he didn’t have any other choice but to die. Now that they knew that he could heal himself it would be suicide. Then he looked back to Remy.

“Can I take a look at your other wounds?”

Remy looked hesitant. He glanced towards Tony but this time no help seemed to be coming from that direction. He turned his eyes back to Bruce.

“I… I don’t trust doctors.”

Bruce nodded and smiled. He had been through that conversation with Tony and Clint before.

“I get that. It’s fine.”

Tony continued with taking the old bandages off, cleaning the wounds and putting new bandages on while Wanda kept dragging her fingers through the cajun’s hair. Remy closed his eyes and after a few minutes his breathing evened out. He was asleep. Sam looked over to the man that was still standing behind the couch.

“And you are?”

“Logan. They call me Wolverine.”

Tony finished with the bandages and, with Wanda’s help, started to carefully clean Remy’s hair with clean water. When they were done Wanda took her old place and Remy’s head was placed on a pillow on her knees. Meanwhile the others had taken seats around them. Tony nodded towards one of the armchairs and Logan sat down. Tony went over to another armchair and flopped down onto it.

“What happened to him?”

When Logan answered his voice was holding an angry undertone.

“I looked for him after you called. In the beginning he was pretty hard to pin down but when they started to torture him the scent of his blood became very clear. When I found him he was hanging from the ceiling by his hands and there was a fire started under his feet. I got him down and to a hotel where I patched him up a bit. Then I took him here.”

“And Creed?”

Logan shook his head.

“Not there. His scent was nowhere near.”

They all quieted. After some time Clint asked:

“Who is Creed and what does he want from Remy?”

Logan and Tony looked at each other. In the end Logan was the one to explain.

“Victor is a feral mutant. Like me. But while I have full control over the animal, Victor doesn’t care about control. He is like a wild beast. One day, while they were still the Marauders, Remy trained with Victor. Creed bit him to break his concentration and accidentally broke the skin. He got a taste of Remy’s blood and became addicted. After that he got rough with Remy. They trained more violently, Victor hurt him intentionally. Everything to get to his blood. I even remember Remy telling me that Sinister had to send Creed away for some time. When he came back he talked to Remy and the stupid cajun agreed to let Victor drink his blood sometimes as long as it would keep Victor focused on the missions. But he hated it. After Stryker, Remy tried to hide but Victor was always finding him. That was when I met him. He was trying to get away. I was trying to find Victor and was following his scent when I found Remy. He had so much of Victor’s scent on him that I kinda confused their scents for some time while I was tracking him. He needed to get away so I helped him escape.”

Clint frowned.

“How? You said it yourself. His scent is stronger than normal. And Creed had been following him.”

Logan smirked at the memory.

“Yeah. We did it another way. I told him to fill a bathtub with the most flowery scents he could find and sit in that water for two hours. Meanwhile I took his clothes that literally reeked of Victor’s scent and made a track with them. Then I told him to put on my clothes, put him in my pickup and drove away. Victor followed the scent that I had made with Remy’s clothes. When he realized what had happened and came after me I had already dropped Remy off.”

They heard a small whimper from Remy and Bruce thought how he could kinda relate to the boy. They had both been hunted by crazy men who destroyed their life. Natasha stood up and went over to the kitchen door.

“Come on. He is asleep. We can as well eat now. You are welcome to join us Logan.”

Slowly they all went over to the kitchen. Logan was the one that stayed the longest but he smiled when he noticed the way Wanda was watching Remy. When he was gone Natasha turned to Wanda and said:

“I’ll bring you some food here.”

Wanda smiled and the spy went into the kitchen. She was met by Tony’s smile and she understood what he was feeling. She felt it too. The whole family was home again.


	32. She's Alive

They were all sitting in the living room again. Small talk was going on between some of them. Fury was keeping his eyes at Remy who was playing Go Fish with Clint and Sam. He was leading and the others got more and more amazed and annoyed.

“LeBeau.”

Remy put his cards down and looked over to him.

“Yes?”

Fury took a deep breath. Apologizing was not something he often did but he felt that he had to do it now.

“I’m not going to say that I’m sorry for insulting you and saying that you might side with the  Marauders. But I am sorry about saying that you belong with Sinister. That was not true. And now that Logan has explained about what was going on with Creed and you, I might change my mind about the first thing too.”

Remy’s head snapped over to Logan.

“You told them?”

The man didn’t even turn away from the conversation he had with Bucky. Remy rolled his eyes, muttered something about stupid ferals and turned back to Fury.

“Well, as you see me and Victor have a not so nice history. He was like a brother to me in the beginning. But the blood changed him into a monster. Even more than he was before.”

Fury nodded slowly. Then he realized that the young man was staring at him. Almost as if he waited for something. Then Remy suddenly closed his eyes and hung his head.

“You knew someone there right? One of the Morlocks.”

That drew the others attention to them.

“I was adopted into a family where all women were mutants. My sister had black eyes. We could have fixed it with sunglasses while she was outside but her daughter Sarah… They couldn’t let her stay. It would be too obvious. She had bones sticking out of her face. So Anna took her and went down to the underground. We thought they would be safe.”

“Bones…”

For a second Remy looked almost shellshocked. Logan turned his head towards Tony.

“Is there any way to get some footage from those tunnels?”

Tony shook his head. Then suddenly green smoke appeared above the table and when it disappeared they saw a dvd lying there on the table. Next to it was a note. Sam lifted it and read:

“Be glad that I know when I’m needed. I think we are even now Stark. This video will show you everything else you need. And your AI still has the other clips.”

At first Tony looked confused but then he face palmed.

“Amora. Yeah. We are even.”

Now it was Visions turn to face palm. The sight of him doing that made Clint chuckle. Vision looked over to Tony.

“I should have guessed when the first clips appeared.”

Tony waved his hand in a dismissing gesture. He went over to the player and put the DVD in. But before he started it he looked over to Remy. The cajun shivered but nodded. Wanda moved closer to him and took his hand. Tony sat back on his seat and Friday played the clip.

_Remy followed a big, wild-looking man into a room full of mutants. A pale man with red eyes and in a black and red suit was standing in front of the crowd._

_“Sabretooth. Gambit. Just in time.”_

_The man called Saber tooth went over to the front of the crowd while Remy kept away from them. The man smirked._

_“It’s a great pleasure to meet you all, my Marauders. I know we’re going to do great things together. Gambit, the next phase of this briefing_ _need not concern you. But I have something of yours that I meant to give_ _you. You do superior work, Mr. Lebeau. You’ve impressed_ _me-- and I’m not easy to impress.”_

_He threw something over to Remy. The thief caught it without any problems and looked at it._

_“I done what I was paid to do. Don’t need your compliments now. Just need our debt_ _settled, non? This was the last. Don’t call. Don’t write. I’m out of this game here and now. As of today, you can’t afford me no more.”_

_All the others were looking away except for Sabretooth that kept his eyes on Remy. Sinister turned away from the thief._

_“Have faith, Mr. LeBeau, that you will be out when you hear from me that you are out. And that will only be after one more job.”_

_Remy hung his head._

_“What kind of job?”_

_Sinister smirked._

_“Scruples? From the great Gambit? I’m shocked.”_

_Remy closed his eyes. The man continued._

_“My new associates require your specific talent for insinuating yourself into places where you don’t belong. They need a guide. A shepherd. What could be the harm in that?”_

_It was quiet for a long moment and then Remy opened his eyes and  lifted his head._

_“This is the last one?”_

_Sinister nodded._

_“Fine then. I’ll do it.”_

_Behind him Sabretooth grinned._

Remy was keeping his eyes on the screen even when the clip had ended. Wanda started to move her thumb on top of his hand to calm him down. T’Challa turned to Remy and, when he noticed the thief’s distress, asked with a smile.

“Insinuating yourself into places where you don’t belong? That how you got into my palace?”

Remy looked to him and managed to smile.

“Kinda. It wasn’t that hard. You really should up your security.”

A few of them smiled. Some of them were shocked that Remy had been the one that kidnapped T’Challa. Logan glared over to Fury.

“He never belonged with Sinister.”

Fury nodded.

“I know that now.”

The screen came to life again.

_Remy was leading the Marauders through the tunnels. The man that looked as if he was partly made out of machinery said quietly:_

_“Keep your eyes peeled, LeBeau. Some o’ these Morlocks got powers too. Wouldn’t want them getting wind of us before we’re ready.”_

_Remy just smirked._

_“They won’t.”_

_He pointed his finger in one direction._

_“That way.”_

_The man looked at him with anger._

_“You don’t sound so sure.”_

_Remy’s answer was calm._

_“I’m sure.”_

_“Sabretooth, take point.”_

_Creed moved to the front and ahead of them without saying anything. They jumped out of one of the tunnels into another. Now they had water up to their knees. The one that looked as if he was made out of crystal said:_

_“Place is a maze.”_

_Arclight jumped into the water and said with disgust:_

_“No. It’s a sewer. What does that tell you about the people who live in it?”_

_Remy rolled his eyes and followed the machine man further into the tunnel while the others slowly followed them. They met up with Creed. Next to him floated a dead body of a man with green hair. The machine man seemed completely calm._

_“Anything, Creed?”_

_Creed bared his teeth._

_“Just this one little guy. He didn’t give me no trouble.”_

_Remy moved to the front and his eyes widened in shock._

_“You… You killed him.”_

_Creed kept looking into Remy’s eyes as he brought his blood soaked fingers to his lips and licked the blood. Remy looked disgusted while Creed spoke._

_“Naw, really? That’s too bad. ‘Cos smashing his head to a pulp was just my way of saying hi.”_

_Remy must’ve understood that he would not get a straight answer from Creed so he turned to the mechanic man. He put his hand on the other’s arm and asked:_

_“What is this about? What did we come here for?”_

_The man looked at him with anger in his eyes._

_“You might want to move that hand, LeBeau. ‘Fore you lose it.”_

_But Remy was angry now._

_“Answer me, Scalphunter! I’m warning you…”_

_The man took a calming breath and said:_

_“Your part ends here. You’ve done what you were hired to do. Got us in through the door and took us to where we need to be. Now you can go.”_

_For a second it looked almost as if the calm tone had convinced Remy. He hung his head and let go of the man’s arm. But then he whispered:_

_“Non, Greycrow.”_

_He looked up again._

_“I’m sorry to say this but I don’t think so.”_

_He used the staff in his hand to jump into the air and kick the man backwards. Scalphunter flew through the tunnel and landed in the water. Remy was already on his feet with cards in his hand._

_“Take him down! NOW!”_

_The crystal man tried to but got hit by Remy’s card._

_“You sure you wanna do that mes amis? I’m not a kid. And I’m not unarmed. Could get ugly.”_

_Remy’s voice was taunting. The green haired woman put her hands up and sent out a wave of energy towards Remy._

_“I guess we’ll take our chances.”_

_The wave didn’t affect Remy but it was visible that he became scared when Creed charged towards him. Before he could move, Creed had taken a hold of his coat near his throat and lifted him into the air. His voice was irritated as he spoke._

_“All you had to do was walk away LeBeau. Was that so hard? Just to walk?”_

_Remy looked almost pleadingly at Creed but the feral continued._

_“Gonna be hard the next time you try it.”_

_He swung his hand and his razor sharp claws slashed through Remy. They destroyed the coat and clothes. Cards were sent flying around them. But instead of dumping his motionless body Creed moved down and gently placed him on his hands and knees into the water that instantly turned red. Scalphunter smirked and turned away from them._

_“Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Take your partners for the first dance.”_

_They all started to walk away. Creed stood another few seconds and stared at Remy’s body and then he too turned away and followed the others. Remy slowly tried to move onto his side._

_“Non! Not…”_

_He screamed as he brought his hand up to the wounds. His eyes were shining purple. He stood up and kept mumbling as he moved towards the opening of the tunnel, using the wall as a helper._

_“Not gonna let you… Sinister… Not gonna be… A part… A part of this…”_

_He stopped at the end of the tunnel and steadied himself on the metal bars._

_“Massacre!”_

_The Marauders were slaughtering Morlocks. Remy slowly moved from tunnel to tunnel until he came out to a opening. Dead bodies were everywhere._

_“Non._ _Ça peut pas…”_

_As he moved around the bodies he suddenly heard a woman talking._

_“H… Help me! Help me, please! My little girl! Don’t let them hurt her! Take her! Take her out of here!”_

_The woman’s eyes were completely black. She was holding a little girl with bones sticking out of her face. The child was crying. Remy turned to them and kneeled in front of the woman._

_“I’ll take both of you, femme.”_

_But she frantically shook her head._

_“No! No, don’t! I can’t… Feel my legs. I won’t be able to run. Or to climb. Save her. Save my Sarah. You got a good face, mister. I trust you. I know you wouldn’t hurt no one.”_

_His eyes filled with pain as he picked the child up and started to walk away with her but he ignored it. The child wriggled in his grasp and he hissed when a bony knee hit his wounds._

_“No! Mommy! No!”_

_The woman smiled._

_“Go with the nice man, baby. Mommy… Mommy will see you later!”_

_Remy stopped and turned to the woman. His eyes were almost filled with tears as he said:_

_“She’ll live. Je te jure, madame. On my word, she’ll live.”_

_The child kept crying as she gripped his coat tightly. He held her close to his chest as he sneaked through the tunnels and past the fighting crowds. The girl had quieted after some time and was hugging him tightly. Finally he managed to get to the ladder leading up. As he climbed using only one hand and holding the child with the other he almost screamed in pain. But he kept quiet. Finally up on the street he managed to put the child down before he fell to his hands and knees and started to cough. The girl looked at him with concern. When he met her eyes with his still purple ones he forced himself up. She understood that they were going because she took his hand and whispered:_

_“Pull the coat more around you. They won’t see the blood.”_

_But he shook his head._

_“It won’t work. Victor... No, Creed. Creed will find me. He knows my scent.”_

_They walked a bit and then he led her to a back alley. There he stopped and pointed to a big house._

_“The man living there is a mutant. His name is Alexander Summers. They call him Havok. Go to his house and tell him everything that happened. Say that the Marauders attacked. Ask him to take you to Xavier’s school. Even Sinister is afraid of Xavier. You’ll be safe there. I’ll stand here and cover you. If anything happens run to the house as fast as you can. I’ll fight as long as possible. You remember all that?”_

_She nodded and tears appeared in her eyes again._

_“The Marauders attacked. Ask him to take me to Xavier’s school.”_

_Remy smiled and she quickly hugged him. He hugged her back and whispered:_

_“Take care of yourself, ma petite.”_

_She let go of him, turned around and ran over the road and into the garden. Remy kept his eyes on her and a charged card in his hand. After a few seconds the door opened and he saw Summers eyes widen. The mutant quickly let the girl in and closed the door. Remy let the card go and fell to the ground. He crawled into the furthest corner of the street and hid under some old newspapers that someone had dumped there. His whole body was shaking and he was letting out small whimpers from time to time. And as he looked up to the sky the purple glow finally disappeared from his eyes. He gave up._

Everyone looked at each other. To everyone’s shock, Fury was crying.  Remy had let his eyes close somewhere in the beginning. Wanda’s, Tony’s and Bruce’s eyes had changed color. Pepper and Sharon looked shocked while Clint and Sam were not only that but also impressed. The one that kept his calm was Logan. Then Fury suddenly whispered:

“She’s alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you see I tried to keep as true to the original comics as possible but changed a few things to make it fit more into the story.


	33. Remy's Training

Fury looked over to Logan.

“You are an X-man right?”

The feral nodded understanding why he was asking.

“Alex got her to the mansion. She is taking classes and hanging out with other mutants. No one is giving her odd looks. Although she is still talking about her purple eyed hero.”

He looked at Remy who was keeping his head down. Logan sensed that something was wrong but before he could ask, the boy looked up and asked with a soft voice:

“Can we train?”

Bruce was startled.

“Your feet are not fully healed yet Remy!”

But the cajun was keeping his eyes on Logan. After a few seconds the feral nodded.

“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you Gumbo.”

Remy smiled.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

He stood up and his face was filled with pain. But he didn’t pay any attention to it, pulled on his boots and headed towards the elevator. Quickly everyone followed him. Friday took them to the training room where everything had been repaired after their last training. Logan showed them all to go sit on the couches while he and Remy got onto the stage.

“All right Cajun. Stretch first.”

Remy nodded without any protests. He knew that Logan would push him. That was why he liked to train with him. Not even Creed or any of the other Marauders could make him tired and satisfied after a training session. But the Wolverine seemed to understand. Before he could start Logan suddenly turned to the others and said with a smirk:

“Come on up here. Try to do what he does. Just the stretching I mean. It will help you relax. But don’t try to do anything else he does. We don’t need any injuries.”

Slowly all the Avengers, Fury and Pepper went onto the stage. Logan nodded to Remy and the cajun started. First he folded his body in half and touched the ground with his fingers while his legs stayed perfectly straight. The Avengers followed his lead. Or tried to. The only ones that managed to hold that position were Natasha, Bucky, Sharon and Tony. The last one stood up again quickly and massaged the area around the reactor. He had forgotten about that. After a few seconds Remy stood up straight again and the other three followed his lead. They could see pain in his eyes but he seemed to be dead set on ignoring it. Bruce, being a doctor, was most worried. They followed some more quite easy exercises and, when Remy said that he was ready,  Logan nodded. The others went back to the couches and sat down while Logan put himself a few steps away from Remy.

“Let’s start of easy. Get into a handstand.”

Remy bent down and placed his hands flat on the ground. It took him no effort at all to lift his legs into the air. He froze in a perfectly balanced handstand.

“One hand.”

Remy’s left hand left the ground and he held it out, away from his body. At the same time his whole body leaned to the right to balance it out. When he got into the perfect position he froze. The others were impressed by his strength. Logan tilted his head.

“Change hand in the air.”

They were confused but it was all explained when Remy slightly bent his arm and used it to get himself into the air. A second later he landed on his left hand. Once again he froze in a perfect position. “Normal handstand and walk around a bit.”

Remy fell back onto both hands and started to walk forwards on them. After a few steps he stopped and headed the same way backwards this time. Not once did he show any strain. Logan nodded in approval.

“Good. Sit down and make a valdez.”

Remy slowly sunk down and rolled with the use of his arms. He stopped in a sitting position, took a deep breath and placed a hand on the ground behind him. He then bent his body backwards while pushing off the floor at the same time. He slowly brought first one leg, then another, around. His feet connected with the ground carefully and he straightened up. His eyes locked with Logan’s and the feral knew. Time to get to the tough stuff. At least the one’s that were tough while Remy’s feet were hurt. Logan didn’t think any acrobatic trick could be a challenge to the agile thief.

“Front aerial.”

Remy took a step forward and then pushed off the ground. When he was hanging upside down in the air, his torso became completely still and he let his lower body continue around it. His legs landed without a sound but there must’ve been more impact this time because he dragged in a shaky breath as soon as he was standing upright again. Some gasps were heard from the audience.

“Nice. Handspring.”

Remy let his upper body lean down and placed his hands on the ground almost as if he was going into a handstand again. But as soon as his body was in a straight line, he used his hands to push off the floor into the air and flipped his body around so that he landed on his feet. The landing distance wasn’t long but he hissed at the pain in his feet. Logan knew that the kid needed to be pushed so he said with a calm voice.

“Somersault.”

For a second he thought that the cajun would call quits but then he nodded. He took a step forward, bounced off of the floor and made a perfect flip in the air. But the problem came when he landed. A quiet scream tore out from his throat and he fell onto one knee. He looked up at Logan with pleading eyes. And Logan understood the quiet message. ‘More.’ He raised one eyebrow and said in a commanding voice that he knew worked on the cajun.

“Again.”

He heard some of the Avengers protest but he didn’t care. His focus was on Remy who had now stood up. He took a step forward and leaped into the air again. Even this time he fell when he landed. Logan quickly pulled one of his claws out and put it against the cajun’s throat while he used his other hand to hold Remy’s head in place by keeping a strong grip on his hair. The boy stilled.

“Again.”

Then he let him go and moved away. Remy stood up, looked from the claw to Logan’s face and then leaped into the air. This time when he landed he didn’t make a sound and forced himself to stand still. Logan smiled.

“Good job.”

Remy’s stance didn’t move an inch and Logan wanted to curse Creed for putting such fear of ferals in the boy. Then he cursed himself for pushing too hard. But at the same moment Remy smiled slightly and Logan relaxed. It was still fine.

“Can you do a double?”  

For a second Remy thought it through and then he nodded. He made another somersault but this time as soon as his feet met the ground he leaped into the air again. Another flip and he landed with perfect precision. Logan smiled. He pulled the rest of the claws out and nodded.

“Come on then. You start.”

As soon as he had said the last word three charged cards were flying towards him. He slashed through them which proved to be a mistake because they exploded when he touched them. Before he managed to collect himself Remy was in front of him. The bo staff hit him in the head and sent him flying. He hit the wall and put his hands up.

“Wait.”

Remy lowered his staff and tilted his head. Logan turned to the other Avengers.

“How about some real challenge? All of you against Gambit. Me, Miss Potts and the Director will watch over this and tell you when you are out. Of course you can back out by yourself too. What do you think?”

Bruce shook his head.

“His feet are badly burned! You can’t be serious!”

Remy sighed.

“I’m fine. Really. It’s a good idea.”

He and Bruce had a staring contest and in the end the doctor slowly nodded.

“I’m not letting the Other Guy out.”

The other Avengers got up and climbed onto the stage. Steve had his shield and Clint had grabbed the bow and fastened the quiver on his back. Natasha and Sharon had gun holsters fastened and Natasha had a few knives hidden on her. Neither Wanda, Tony, Vision or Bucky needed anything. Sam put on his wings and Rhodey called his suit. T’Challa went over to the couch that Pepper and Bruce were sitting on.

“I’ll sit this one out.”

Logan nodded while Remy smiled sadly.

“The heroes against Gambit. This will be interesting.”

The Avengers hesitated for a second. This was the first time they would fight together. Some glanced over to Steve. Before the fighting it would have been natural that they would turn to Steve for leadership. Now they weren’t so sure. Steve, remembering Natasha’s quick thinking during the attack and the way Tony always seemed to be able to calculate everyone’s moves, said:

“Tony, why don’t you take the lead this time. Or maybe Nat if you don’t want to.”

Tony looked shocked but nodded. They all stood around him.

“All right. Clint, Sam. I want you to keep distance. Cover us. Wanda. You and me will try to stop the things he will throw at us. Viz. You and Rhodey get into the air. Keep an eye on everything but don’t come in until it is necessary. Nat, Shari, Steve and Winter. You four attack him directly.”

Everyone nodded and they turned towards Remy who was standing with a smirk on his face. He kept playing with some cards. Tony smiled.

“It’s on.”


	34. One Shower

While Clint and Sam fell back, Rhodey and Vision lifted into the air. Tony and Wanda kept an eye on the others. The resting four moved forward. But before they reached the cajun, he managed to throw five cards at them. Bucky dragged Sharon out of harm's way while Natasha and Steve hid behind the shield. That gave Remy time to send a few cards towards Clint and Sam. Sam lifted into the air but Clint was hit and thrown into a wall. He tried to get up but another card exploded the wall behind him and he was knocked back again. The next card was stopped by Wanda and it exploded harmlessly in the air but Clint had had enough. He went over to the couches and sat down. Two explosions so close, plus the hit he got from crashing into the wall was enough.

“Hawkeye out.”

Remy smirked but then he had to duck under the shield that had been thrown at him. Tony pointed Sam over to where Rhodey and Vision were floating and Falcon flew over there. Meanwhile both Bucky and Natasha had managed to get next to the cajun. Bucky tried to hit him with the metal arm but the boy just made a backflip and landed on a low wall. His balance was perfect even though he swayed a bit upon the landing. The same second his feet touched the wall he flung a few cards towards Rhodey. The man managed to avoid the cards and fired a blast at Remy. That forced him to jump from the rock. While he was in the air, Steve threw the shield at him. But Remy managed to grab it while he was in the air, charge it, flip his body around and throw the shield at Vision. The android simply phased through the shield. What he didn’t notice was that Sam had stopped in the air behind him and hadn’t noticed the shield. The sheer force that it was thrown with knocked Sam out of the air. Tony catched him up with his power and lowered him gently to the ground. At the same second, Remy threw a charged card at Tony. It was stopped by Wanda but that gave the cajun enough time to throw a few cards towards the unshielded Sharon. Bucky, that had rushed over to pull her away from the harm, was caught in the blast from the card. They were both thrown into the wall behind him. But his enhanced body took the hit much better than her and he managed to stand up again while she groaned and slipped off the stage.

“Carter and Falcon out.”

Sam had gotten off the stage. Even though Tony had been gentle while lowering him, the blast had somehow messed up his wings and he felt unsure on the ground without the wings to catch him in case. Meanwhile Steve managed to get his shield back but he didn’t dare to throw it again. Remy had now gotten over to the offensive. He used the cards to make the flying ones busy and managed to hit Steve with the staff in the head. The staff had been charged and the small explosion sent the Captain flying. Rhodey flew over and caught him. Remy saw his chance and sent a charged card towards Rhodey. At the same second he hit his staff on the ground and sent energy through the floor towards Wanda and Tony. They were sent into the air and could therefore not shield Rhodey who was carrying Steve. The card stuck in the suit and exploded sending both men flying. Rhodey lost his grip on Steve and both men crashed down. Logan smirked.

“Rogers and War Machine out.”

Fury was a bit terrified. This man was dangerous. His pain resistance was impossible to grasp but on the other side, after what had happened to him when he was with Stryker explained this. And the way he moved was impressive. Almost as if he was made of rubber at times. And he somehow always knew where the next hit would come from. Now Tony had managed to find his balance in the air and lowered himself gently. Wanda didn’t have the same luck. She flew through the room but a second before she hit the wall, Vision caught her. He lowered her to the ground and then flew off towards Remy. The cajun smirked at that and charged a few cards. But before he managed to throw them, Tony had used his power to throw him up into the air. He was sent flying towards the wall. In the last second he twisted his body around and when his feet touched the wall, he kicked off it and sent a whole deck towards the others. Wanda and Tony put up shields but it was not enough. This charge was much stronger than any of the previous. Tony strengthened his shields and managed to extend them to Natasha who was standing closest to him. Wanda, who had tried to shield both herself and Bucky, had less luck. They were both thrown backwards. And this time Vision didn’t manage to catch her. She flew off the stage together with Bucky.

“Wanda and Winter out.”

Now only Tony, Natasha and Vision were left standing. Vision floated down and stopped next to the other two. Remy stood next to a low wall and nonchalantly flipped the cards in his hand.

“Had enough?”

Tony turned to the others and said quietly:

“Viz. Keep him busy. Nat, you get close to him. I’ll cover you.”

Vision lifted into the air again. He started to shoot at Remy which forced the cajun to hide behind one of the walls. But Vision exploded the wall. Remy jumped from behind it only to get kicked in the stomach by Natasha. He didn’t lose his cool and didn’t show the pain. He jumped back and hit Natasha with his staff. She managed to dive under it and delivered the next hit. But he spun around and grabbed her in a headlock. She was going to hit him with her elbow but stilled when she felt him hold one of her own knives to her throat.

“Damn thief.”

He smirked and turned to the others.

“If you don’t want me to hurt her you better stand down.”

Slowly Tony and Vision lowered their hands and Vision landed on the ground. Tony shook his head slowly and said:

“Fine. Tony, Nat and Viz out.”

Remy released Natasha and handed her back her knife. She gave him a playful punch. At the same moment Logan went onto the stage and nodded.

“Good job. Especially with the full deck. How are your feet? And don’t you dare lie.”

The cajun hesitated but then he answered in a quiet voice.

“Not fully healed but quite good. But I need to get out of these boots.”

Logan nodded again.

“Yeah. And the rest of you need to shower. You stink.”

That was when they all noticed that during the fight Remy hadn’t gotten sweaty even though he moved more than any of them. Tony looked around and asked:

“You do the lunch Brucie?”

Bruce nodded. Pepper got over to Remy and put a hand on his elbow.

“You’re going with us and you’ll rest.”

Tony smiled at the motherly tone Pepper took on but his smile faltered when he noticed that Remy had froze. He realized then that Remy never really had a mother figure. Jean-Luc’s wife was dead. Jean-Luc's mother was the only real female that had ever taken care of Remy. Pepper noticed the change too but didn’t let it discourage her. She gently pulled him towards one of the elevators and they stepped inside together with Bruce, T’Challa, Fury and Vision. Remy glanced towards Logan but the man shook his head.

“I need to shower too. Carrying you around was a bit tiresome.”

Remy stuck his tongue out and the doors closed. Steve and the others went into the second elevator while Natasha and Tony stepped into the third. Clint tilted his head.

“Hey! Why are you two going together?”

Tony smirked but before he could answer Natasha cut in.

“Tony has two showers.”

The door closed before Clint could say anything else. Tony smiled over to Natasha.

“Two showers? And here I hoped for some hot action in ONE shower.”

Natasha smacked his head.

“Shut up Stark.”

Then after a few seconds she asked:

“Why did he want to train? He could barely walk.”

Tony sighed.

“Remy doesn’t like it when people thank him for something. He would rather have the whole world hunt him than one person thank him. He simply doesn’t believe he deserves any thanks after what he has done in the past. He felt that Fury was going to thank him for saving that girl. So he asked Logan to train knowing that Logan would help him.”

Natasha tilted her head.

“So he believes he is responsible for things he had no control over. Just like you.”

Tony shook his head.

“I know what I’m responsible for. And I also know what I am not responsible for. It’s different in Remy’s case. If he was walking down the street and a cat got hit by a car on the same street, he would blame himself. He believes that he is responsible for many things that he couldn’t have changed. He blames himself. And whatever you say, you won’t change his mind.”

There was another thing Natasha didn’t understand.

“Why did Logan push him so hard. Especially with getting that claw out.”

Tony sighed again. He knew that question would come.

“Remy is used to training with Creed. And Creed never held back. But while Creed couldn’t control himself, Logan has perfect control. And Remy thinks that in order to get stronger, he needs to be able to work around pain. Logan knows that. He knows that he has to push Remy in order for him to be happy with the training. And since Logan has control over himself Remy trusts him enough to let go of some of his own control when they are training.”

Natasha was thinking it through when Tony decided to take something up. He looked at her with hesitation and started:

“When I was leaving for Hydra…”

“I kinda wished you didn’t have the mask on.”

His eyes widened.

“You knew?”

Natasha nodded.

“From the time when you confronted me after Vanko. You weren’t really mad that day.”

Tony smiled. Of course she would have noticed. She was a master spy. Natasha took a step towards him. He smiled, took her hand and dragged her towards him. She leaned up and kissed him. And he felt like he had came to heaven. He pulled her close and deepened the kiss. When they finally pulled apart he smirked.

“One shower?”

Natasha’s eyes were shining with happiness.

“One shower.”


	35. Gumbo

Pepper led Remy to a chair and pushed him down onto it. 

“You stay here. And take the boots off.” 

“Yes, madam.” 

Remy was kinda stunned. It was long since a woman had taken care of him. It reminded him of Jean-Luc’s mother. The old lady had been fierce. Pepper seemed to be exactly the same. Taking no shit from anyone. He pulled the boots off and looked at his feet. They were pretty much completely healed. It had gone faster than he thought it would. Bruce looked over to him. He understood that Remy was for some reason scared of doctors. Tony and Clint had the same fear. It had taken Bruce long time to convince those two to let him examine them. But he had a feeling that it would be much harder with the cajun. He sighed and went over to where Pepper was readying food to help her. T’Challa, Vision and Fury sat down. 

“Remy?” 

The cajun looked over to T’Challa. The king continued. 

“How did you get into my private rooms to kidnap me? So that I can avoid that in the future.” 

Remy smiled. 

“Easy. I got past your guards and knocked you out.” 

“That’s the thing! It is supposed to be impossible to get past those guards.” 

Fury turned to them and Remy answered slowly. 

“I think I want that to stay a secret. I can tell you that if anyone else had tried to get into your private rooms they would be caught.” 

T’Challa seemed to feel satisfied with that answer and let it go. Meanwhile Fury was still staring at Remy. 

“I owe you an apology.” 

Remy shook his head. 

“You don’t owe me anything.” 

He stood up and went over to the stove. 

“Can Remy help?” 

They all noticed how he had slipped into the third person thing again. Pepper looked at him and was ready to tell him to sit down again but, seeing the expression on his face, she agreed. 

“Actually it is a good idea. I have no idea what to do.” 

Remy thought for a moment. 

“Do we have any vegetarians?” 

Pepper nodded. 

“Wanda and me. But some of the others eat our food sometimes so you have to count everyone as vegetarians.” 

Remy nodded and wrecked his brain for some of the recipes Mrs. LeBeau had told him. 

“All right. Why don’t you start with the vegetarian dish then madame. You’ll need vegetable oil, flour, onion, green bell pepper, celery, tomatoes, green beans, carrots, parsnip, okra, ground cumin, paprika, dried oregano and cayenne pepper. Remy will tell you what do do while doctor Banner makes the normal version. Doctor Banner will need vegetable oil, andouille, flour, yellow onions, green bell peppers, garlic, chicken broth, okra, salt, cayenne, Original Red Sauce, bay leaves, shrimp, green onions and white rice. Remy will make some  Sweet Potato Pie.” 

Pepper tilted her head. 

“Okay. But what is that supposed to become in the end?” 

“Gumbo. Vegetarian. The second one is Shrimp and Sausage.” 

They started to work. Remy was giving them instructions while he was readying the pie. Half an hour later the Avengers started to drop in. First were Wanda and Sharon. The agent had borrowed some clothes from Wanda since her own were still in Malibu. Wanda went over to Remy and looked him over the shoulder to which he let her taste some of the ingredients before shooing her away to the table. Next were Sam, Clint and Rhodey. They arrived at almost the same time and all three went over to Remy who rolled his eyes and simply told them to stay away. Logan arrived a few minutes later and sniffed in the air. 

“Gumbo?” 

Remy smirked and Logan huffed out a breath. He sat down next to Sharon and Remy almost burst out laughing at the way the feral tried to hide the fact that he was drawn to the blonde. Steve and Bucky came in at the same time but the tension between them was almost visible. It could be noticed even more when Bucky went over to sit with Logan and Steve took the seat on the other side of the table. It took another 20 minutes before Tony and Natasha came back. When they stepped in, Logan sniffed in the air again. He smirked. 

“Two showers, huh?” 

Both Tony and Natasha had totally blank faces. Clint looked from one to the other and then burst out:

“You two…!” 

Natasha smiled and took Tony’s hand. 

“We two.” 

Remy looked at them with something very like jealousy and his shields slipped for a second. He had them up and was back to cooking almost immediately but both Logan and Tony felt it. To the others it was too quick to be noticed. Tony’s eyes widened when he realized why the cajun had those feelings but he didn’t comment on it. There would be time for that later. They all sat down and a few minutes later Remy turned to Tony again. This time his face was emotionless. 

“Tony. Could you bring the food over to the table?” 

Tony levitated the food there and Remy explained. 

“This is Gumbo. This one is vegetarian. The other one is Shrimp and Sausage. We have Sweet Potato Pie for later. Remy hopes you’ll enjoy it.” 

He looked around the table and noticed that the others had put themselves so that the only place left was next to Wanda. He sat down there and everyone started to eat. Already after the first bite, almost everyone was telling him how good it tasted. He smiled but didn’t say anything. Tony looked around the table and asked:

“You guys have plans for later today?” 

Everyone shook their heads. No one had really thought about anything to do later. 

“Well then. How would you like to play something. Like we did before. We already trained today. And I don’t think we have anything else to talk about when it comes to our enemies. So I thought we could play some more.” 

Clint nodded his head. Everyone knew that he loved games. 

“Never have I ever?” 

Some groans were heard around the table but otherwise no one said anything against Clint’s question. They finished eating while some small talk was going on. Later, Wanda helped Tony levitate all the dishes to the sink. They all went to the living room and sat down. Tony and Natasha claimed one loveseat while Wanda dragged Remy onto the other. Vision, T’Challa, Fury and Steve took one of the bigger couches while Bucky, Sam and Clint took the other. Rhodey, Pepper and Bruce took their own armchairs which forced Logan and Sharon to sit on the last loveseat available. Tony levitated glasses to everyone and when they took them he got water to the table. Logan raised his eyebrows so he explained. 

“Not everyone can hold their liquor like me or not get drunk at all like you and the super soldiers.” 

Logan nodded and they all filled their glasses. Before they could start Natasha quickly added a rule. 

“If someone wants to know why or when you did something you have to answer truthfully.” 

Slowly they all nodded. Clint started. 


	36. Never Have I Ever

“Never have I ever smoked weed.” 

Tony, Remy and Natasha drank immediately. Rhodey threw a murderous glance at Tony before he too drank. Pepper’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Explain. All of you.” 

Tony shrugged. 

“MIT. Tried a little bit of everything. Didn’t last long but I tried.” 

Next was Natasha who simply said:

“A mission.” 

Remy’s answer was said in an easy voice. 

“Forced by a guy on the streets when I was a kid.” 

Everyone’s eyes widened but they didn’t have time to comment because Rhodey was already answering:

“Tony gave it to me once. Didn’t go near that shit ever since.” 

Sam who was sitting next to Clint took his turn. 

“Never have I ever peed my pants in public.” 

Tony, Clint and Remy drank. Seeing the others raised eyebrows Tony quickly explained. 

“I was drunk. And technically I peed in the suit so…” 

Pepper, Rhodey and Natasha face palmed. 

“Don’t remind me.” 

Clint shrugged. 

“I was a kid.” 

Remy nodded. 

“Same here.” 

Bucky then took his turn. 

“Never have I ever been caught drinking and driving.” 

Tony, Sam and, to everyone’s surprise, Sharon and Fury drank. Clint pointed his finger at Fury. 

“I want to hear that one.” 

Fury raised an eyebrow but answered nonetheless. 

“It was while I was younger.” 

When they nodded Rhodey said:

“Never have I ever eaten alligator meat.” 

Remy smiled and drank. So did Tony and Logan. Everyone else was staring at them. Remy looked around and, seeing the confusion, explained.

“We eat it where I come from. It tastes good.” 

Logan made a disgusted noise. 

“Gumbo made an alligator dish for me once. Swore to never eat that again.” 

Tony nodded his head. 

“Sorry Remy, your cooking is excellent, but that alligator was disgusting.” 

Seeing that everyone had finished speaking, Pepper took her turn. 

“Never have I ever stolen.” 

Remy rolled his eyes and drank. Natasha, T’Challa, Clint, Wanda and Fury followed his lead. Bucky slowly drank. He remembered stealing as the Winter Soldier. Tony was frowning. He couldn’t decide if some of the thing he had done could be counted as stealing. The food he took when he was a child was to survive. And it was in his own house so it couldn’t count. Then Remy looked over to him and said:

“Some of the files you take would be counted as stealing.” 

Tony smiled brightly and drank. Next up was Vision. 

“Never have I ever given a lap dance to a complete stranger.” 

Tony was shocked at that. He couldn’t understand where Vision had learned about things like that. But he drank and felt a bit better when he noticed that Remy, Natasha and Sharon did that too. This time it was Bucky who rose his eyebrow. Tony explained quickly:

“I was drunk.” 

Bucky snorted.

“Is that your explanation to everything?” 

Tony nodded with a big grin on his face. Bucky sighed and turned to Natasha.

“Mission.” 

Sharon’s answer was identical. When Bucky turned to Remy, the cajun shrugged. 

“When I was younger I did whatever it took to get money.” 

They all got shocked expressions. 

“Did you…?” 

Before Bruce managed to ask, Remy shook his head. 

“Non. I didn’t have sex with them. But they liked to see me dance. They were sick women.” 

T’Challa, seeing that the cajun was uncomfortable with everyone’s attention, took his turn. 

“Never have I ever gone a week without showering.” 

Tony, Bruce, Remy and Clint drank. Before anyone could ask Tony explained. 

“I was working in the workshop. Not drunk.” 

Bucky chuckled at that. Bruce smiled softly. 

“Caught up in a science project.” 

“Didn’t always have the opportunity to when I was younger.” 

Remy nodded in agreement and Clint smiled over to him. They could relate to each other in some things. Everyone turned to Fury. 

“Never have I ever been to Disneyland.” 

Sharon and Pepper were the only ones that drank. Tony looked around and sighed. 

“When this is all over we’ll all go there.” 

Some of them smiled while Steve thought about his question. 

“Never have I ever played strip poker.” 

Tony and Remy looked at each other and burst out laughing. When they calmed down they both drank. So did Sharon, Natasha, Sam and Clint. Tony shook his head. 

“Played with the cajun. Never again.” 

Remy smirked. 

“I made him run naked around the tower with Dummy chasing him. Priceless.” 

Logan looked at him with amusement. 

“Let me guess you didn’t lose anything.” 

“Of course not.” 

Bruce decided to spare Tony the embarrassment of continuing the story and took his turn. 

“Never have I ever gotten seasick.” 

Sharon, Wanda and Steve drank. Bucky smirked. 

“Yeah. Steve was seasick whenever we were even close to the sea. Before the serum of course.” 

It was now Natasha’s turn. 

“Never have I ever been kicked out of a bar.” 

Logan, Bucky, Clint and Sam drank. Bucky looked to Tony and asked with a frown:

“You’ve never been thrown out of a bar?” 

Tony grinned. 

“Nope. If they try, I just buy the bar. Can’t throw me out if I’m the owner right? And I mostly drink at home.” 

And since it was his turn he continued:

“Never have I ever cheated on a test.” 

Rhodey was the only one to drink. Pepper tilted her head. Rhodey looked embarrassed. 

“I cheated off of Tony.” 

Logan rolled his eyes and said:

“Never have I ever had an allergic reaction.” 

Pepper and Wanda drank. Tony looked suddenly very guilty. 

“I’m truly sorry for those strawberries Pep. Really.” 

She smiled. 

“It’s fine. I know you tried to make things fine between us again. And that you most probably didn’t remember that I was allergic.” 

Remy leaned closer to Wanda. 

“And what are you allergic to cherie?” 

Wanda shrugged. 

“Nothing big. I don’t really tolerate honey but it’s nothing serious.”  

Remy nodded. He decided that he would have to remember this for the future. If he was going to stay. Meanwhile Sharon was thinking about what she was going to say. 

“Never have I ever starved myself.” 

Remy shrugged and drank. Slowly Wanda brought her glass up and drank a sip. For the first time, Tony looked positively shocked by the fact that Remy drank. He was even more shocked that Wanda drank. With a finger pointed at them he demanded:

“You two explain yourselves. Now.” 

Remy shrugged once again. 

“I was looking for an easy way out before Jean-Luc took me in.” 

Tony accepted the answer but decided that he would have to talk about that with the cajun. But that would be later. Now he turned towards Wanda. She lowered her head a bit. 

“A kid from the neighborhood bullied me when I was younger. He called me fat so I started to starve myself. When it got to a point that it was visible, my parents took me to a hospital and Pietro found that kid and beat him up. I never tried again.” 

Remy put his arm around her shoulders. 

“That kid was an idiot. You’re beautiful as you are cherie.” 

Wanda blushed a bit but looked a bit more confident when she took her turn. 

“Never have I ever slipped on a banana peel.” 

T’Challa, Fury and Sam drank. Clint’s eyes widened. 

“Director? When?” 

Fury looked over at him with anger. 

“If I  remember right, you were the one that threw that banana peel agent Barton.” 

Clint suddenly became red and turned away. Remy took his turn before anyone else said anything. 

“Never have I ever been afraid of the dark.” 

Sharon, Pepper and Wanda drank. Tony looked around. 

“Another round?” 

The others shook their heads. Suddenly the room filled with green smoke. A woman in green clothes, with long blonde hair appeared. Tony stood up and smiled. 

“Amora.” 

The woman smiled back. 

“Stark. It’s nice to see you with your powers.” 

But Tony didn’t let her talk too much. 

“Why are you here Amora? I already said that we are even.” 

The woman suddenly turned to Remy and her eyes widened. 

“How are you doing that mortal?!” 

Remy was looking at her calmly. He had felt the way she tried to read his mind and he had strengthened the shields even more. Tony made a small sound in the back of his throat and she turned back to him. 

“Oh, yes. Excuse me. What I came here for is important. I won’t consider the debt paid until your team have seen all the clips that I gave them about you. There is no need for you to be here when they watch it but they need to understand everything. They still look at you like someone that have done something wrong. They have forgiven. But they do not trust. They have to see that you never wanted to hurt anyone.” 

Tony shook his head. 

“Why are you doing this Amora? Why do you insist on making people know about my past?” 

“Because they didn’t know about him! And look where he is now! In a prison cell! Not even his brother trusts him anymore! Because no one would take the time to STOP AND LISTEN!” 

Her voice rose to a scream. Tony sighed. 

“I’m not Loki. Yes, there are likenesses between us. But I’m not him. I know what you are going through. But you need to leave this. Go. Help him. He needs you now.” 

She seemed to think it through but then she shook her head. 

“No. I’m not leaving. I’ve put a charm on this room. No one leaves until they have seen it all. You can leave Stark. I would never force you to live through that again. But they can’t leave.” 

She turned to Remy. 

“You have been through more than any other person your age would be able to live through. There are a few memories of yours on the DVD that you got earlier. I think they should see it.” 

She turned around to leave but he had gotten up and grabbed her arm before she managed to disappear. 

“I don’t need anything from you. I don’t want to have any debt with a being like you.” 

She smiled almost softly. 

“There is no debt Gambit. Don’t worry. I’m doing this because I want to help. Because you have been through things that no one should go through.” 

He stared at her for a long moment and then let her go. She disappeared in a green smoke and both mutants fell back on their seats. Tony closed his eyes. 

“Damn it.” 

Remy looked over to him and understood. Tony had the whole family to lose in case something they saw was bad. But then he remembered how they had accepted him. And he understood what Amora meant. They had to understand. 

“Tony? She’s right.” 

He opened a link between them and sent calming feelings to Tony. Slowly the other man took a deep breath and nodded. Remy drew the power back. 

“Fine. Let’s watch it.” 

A screen appeared on a wall and the windows became dark. 


	37. Explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so so sorry for not posting for so long time. I was taking my drivers license and had really much going on. But I'm back to writing full time again. So be ready for more chapters.

Natasha quickly shook her head. 

“Wait a second. Amora? Loki? And what did Remy do that shocked her so much?” 

Tony looked around. Everyone had questioning looks so he decided that he would have to explain. 

“When I was on a solo mission as Iron Man, I stumbled upon a woman that was badly injured and passed out. Jarvis traced magic around her. But I couldn’t just put her in prison without knowing who she was so I brought her to my Malibu house and nursed her back to health. You maybe remember the time I said I had to stay in Japan for some time. I was in Malibu then. When she woke up, she told me that her name was Amora and that she was Loki’s girlfriend. She had tried to find Thor to convince him to help Loki. But she got captured and hurt. I decided to let her go and told her that she was free to come and go as she wished. The Malibu house was unused either way so it didn’t do me much. And she was not looking for fights with us. She thanked me and said that she would pay back the debt one day when I needed her the most. I just don’t understand her way of helping.” 

Natasha seemed to accept that answer because she turned to Remy. He felt his heart start to beat faster. But he forced it to slow down. He couldn’t afford to get nervous now. He was not sure if he trusted them that much. But then he saw Logan nodding. If the feral trusted them… 

“I’m an Omega Mutant.” 

A few person’s eyes widened. Some of them didn’t understand. Logan came with an explanation. 

“Omega Class Mutants are the most powerful mutants on the earth. There are not many of them. Only 14. 13 of them are known. Remy is the one no one but us knows about.”

“Sinister knows.” 

Remy’s voice was tired. 

“Sinister has known from the very beginning.” 

Fury looked sharply at him. 

“How powerful are you?” 

Remy looked around but he didn’t see any hate or fear. They accepted him so far. Maybe Tony had been right. 

“The first thing to say might be that I have more than one mutations. I can charge things with kinetic energy but you know that one. Kinetic energy means movement. The mutation allows me to sense movement. I am an empath. Can feel others feelings and let others feel my feelings if I let my shields down. I have shields in my brain. They make it impossible for telepaths to get into my head and makes any other mutant telepathic power useless against me. I can hypnotize people to the point when I force my own will upon them. I can charge up things without even touching them if I concentrate on it. But those are the powers I have left after Sinister’s surgery. If I had my full powers now, I could blow the whole Tower up with just a thought. Even now I have to hold back when I’m fighting.” 

Almost everyone was staring at him. If he was that powerful… Blow the whole Tower up… Natasha took a deep breath. 

“So that’s why you said that that Vertigo girl couldn’t make you dizzy or sick. Right?” 

Remy nodded. 

“Iggy…” 

He quickly looked over towards Fury but the man didn’t say anything. Tony saw the cajun’s worry and sighed. 

“Look cajun. No one will hurt you for saying those nicknames. They were your friends back then. It’s fine.” 

Fury slowly nodded. That seemed to calm Remy because he continued to talk. 

“Iggy’s powers are mental. She makes you believe that you are dizzy. My shields never let her do that.” 

Clint tilted his head. 

“Okay. I’m sorry for going back to this. But Loki?! Really. How on earth are you like Loki?” 

Tony shrugged. 

“She said that I’m like him. The whole ‘daddy issues’ thing and not really being understood by other people. I think that was what she was mostly looking at.” 

Suddenly Friday asked quietly:

“Which memories would you like to see first? Boss’ or Remy’s?” 

The two looked at each other. If a telepath had been present in the room he would have been shocked by the fact that both men were thinking about the same thing. ‘They will hate me when they see it’. Then Remy sighed. 

“Let’s do mine first. There aren’t as many.” 

Friday simply played the clip. 

_ Remy was sitting on the floor in a small cell. The walls were covered with spikes which made it impossible for him to lean on anything. He was wearing some old ragged clothes and around his neck was a metal collar with a red light. His face was bruised and he had blood on the clothes. Suddenly the door opened and Victor Creed walked in. Remy looked up but didn’t move from his spot.  _

_ “Hey runt.”  _

_ His voice was almost friendly. Remy’s eyes widened a bit when he noticed that the feral held a small bundle in his arms. The fabric that the other thing were wrapped in was his leather coat. Creed closed the door and dropped the clothes on the floor. Remy looked from the clothes to Creed’s face.  _

_ “Co faire?”  _

_ Creed frowned.  _

_ “You know full well that I don’t understand cajun.”  _

_ Remy glared at him but then repeated it in english.  _

_ “Why?”  _

_ Creed crouched down in front of him.  _

_ “I’m not sorry for what I did back then. But what happened to you… You have to understand that I did it to protect you.”  _

_ Remy snorted.  _

_ “Yeah, right. You nearly clawed me open to protect me.”  _

_ “YES! What do you think the other’s would have done if I didn’t stop you? Vertigo might be the only person who would not kill you instantly. The other’s wouldn’t hesitate. I did what I had to do to save your life.”  _

_ Remy looked away from him.  _

_ “I didn’t ask you for it. I didn’t need your ‘help’. Maybe getting killed would have been better for me.”  _

_ Creed shook his head.  _

_ “Stop that whole depressed guy thing. It doesn’t fit you. Now change into your own clothes. Stryker and many of the other guards are out.”  _

_ Remy shook his head.  _

_ “No. I’m not doing this. I know how things around here work Creed. I’m not falling for it.”  _

_ It was quiet for a long moment and then Creed stood up.  _

_ “You’re good.”  _

_ He grabbed the cajun by his hair, pulled him up to his feet and started to drag him out of the room. He dragged him along to a big room with no furniture in it. There he dropped the man that sunk down into a sitting position again. Creed closed the door.  _

_ “I didn’t entirely lie. Stryker and the guards are out. And I’m going to have some fun.”  _

_ He crouched down, stilled for a few seconds and then jumped towards the man with his claws ready. But Remy was quicker. He rolled to the side and Creed landed on the floor. He spun around but the cajun was already by the door.  _

_ “And how do you expect to get out of the collar, runt? You know that the lock is impossible to pick. Even for you.”  _

_ Remy stilled with one hand on the handle. He closed his eyes.  _

_ “Why are you doing this Victor? What have I done to you that makes you hate me so much?”  _

_ His voice was soft and weak. Creed smirked.  _

_ “It’s Victor now, huh? What happened with ‘Creed’ and ‘monster’?”  _

_ No answer came so he continued.  _

_ “I hate you as much as a drug addict hates his drugs. That’s all you are to me. A drug. If you would just give up I could take you out of here right now. I’d keep you someplace safe. No one would ever hurt you again. You’ll give me your blood when I want it and I’ll make sure that you have anything you need. You just need to give up. Surrender to me and I swear that I will not let anyone hurt you.”  _

_ Remy slowly turned around.  _

_ “And my blood is the only thing you want?”  _

_ Creed wrinkled his nose.  _

_ “I’m not into men. You know that. No sex. Just blood.”  _

_ The cajun raised his hand towards the collar. Creed nodded.  _

_ “It comes off. Immediately.”  _

_ Remy looked down. He looked conflicted. They were both quiet for a few minutes and then he shook his head.  _

_ “I can’t. You’re a sick person Victor. You’re a murderer.”  _

_ And Creed looked positively furious. He jumped towards Remy but once again the cajun was faster. He dove under Creed and when the feral looked at him again, he was holding a small key in his hand. He put it up and unlocked the collar. It fell onto the floor and Remy looked at Creed with purple eyes.  _

_ “You really shouldn’t have taken the key with you.”  _

_ Then he charged the key and threw it at the feral. The power of the blast threw the man backwards and he crashed through the door ripping it off it’s hinges. Remy walked out of the room and stepped over Creed’s unconscious body. He headed towards his old cell, picking some small stones up on the way. He blasted the door open and quickly changed into his old clothes. Then he headed to where he knew the exit was. A small smile appeared on his face when he pulled a card out.  _

The clip ended. Remy was pale but collected. Wanda and Tony looked furious while the others had different grades of shock written all over their faces. The first person to speak was Clint. 

“You were considering it, right? Going with him.” 

Remy nodded slowly. 

“It was tempting. Getting out of there. The only thing he wanted in return was my blood. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t that person anymore. I wanted to be a good person.” 

Wanda took his hand. 

“You ARE a good person Remy.” 

Logan nodded. 

“Victor is a sick person. I’m glad you had enough sense to trust me back then and get away from him.” 

‘And trusted me not to use you like he did.’ Logan didn’t say that but they both understood. Then Fury suddenly asked:

“What was that thing around your neck?” 

The cajun winced. 

“A Genoshian collar. They stop mutant powers. However strong you are. Once it’s on, you can’t use them. At all.” 

Fury looked almost impressed by the fact that something like that existed. Sam took the opportunity to lighten the mood up a bit.  

“That stealing thing was awesome. Really.” 

Remy smiled softly but was still pale so Tony quickly said:

“Let’s take one of mine now.” 

They all understood that he was trying to deflect the attention from the cajun so that he could get some time to collect himself. Everyone turned back to the screed and Friday switched to the clips about Tony. 


	38. Sinister Plans

_Remy was sitting in a very small cell. He had old prison clothes and the Gnoshian collar around his throat. Suddenly the door opened and Creed stepped in._

_“Hey runt.”_

_Remy actually smiled._

_“Vic. I thought he told you not to come here and talk to me.”_

_The feral smiled softly and closed the door behind him. Then he sat down on the floor and answered calmly:_

_“Iggy and Ari will buy us some time. Iggy pretends she is completely crazy and makes every single person that comes close to her sick. And Ari is trying to calm her down but is failing. Master is there now. This gives us around 20 minutes alone.”_

_He pulled a deck of cards out and stretched them out to Remy. The cajun looked at them but refused to take them. Creed tilted his head._

_“Runt?”_

_The nickname made Remy relax a bit. To everyone else it might have been an insult but to the two of them it was a sign of friendship that lasted through everything._

_“I’m sorry. It’s just…”_

_He waved his hand a bit and Creed understood. Remy had gotten afraid of human touch._

“Turn it off Friday.”

Tony’s voice was strong when he, for the first time ever, noticed pure fear in Remy’s eyes. The clip paused and the screen flickered only to come back to the same moment again. Tony looked over to one of the cameras.

“Friday? What’s going on?”

“I can’t turn it off.”

She sounded almost panicked. And that made Tony feel scared. How had anyone managed to do something to Friday? And most importantly: WHO DARED TO MESS WITH HIS GIRL? He looked over to Natasha who had gotten up.

“I’ll go to the control room. Maybe something is going on there.”

Clint and Sam quickly followed her only to get thrown backwards as soon as they tried to get into the elevator. They fell onto the couch that had moved to catch them. Pepper looked around in fear while Tony’s eyes flashed blue.

“This is NOT funny Amora. Why are you doing this to him?”

A green smoke appeared but this time it wasn’t Amora that stepped out of it. A tall man with burning red eyes stood in the middle of the room. Remy’s eyes filled with hate but before he could do anything Logan growled and pulled his claws out. He was going to attack the man when Remy suddenly spoke up.

“Logan, don’t.”

The feral looked over to him and the growling stopped. The other Avengers had meantime gotten ready to fight. Tony’s and Wanda’s eyes were glowing. Natasha, Fury, Sharon, Sam and Bucky had drawn their guns while Clint picked up the bow and an explosive arrow. Bruce was standing close to Pepper and was keeping calm. Since the suit was locked out and the shield was in another room, Steve and Rhodey simply stood a bit to the side. T’Challa was ready to use his strength in case it would come down to a fight. Vision’s stone was glowing but he seemed calm otherwise. The only person who didn’t move was Remy. He was still sitting on the loveseat and keeping his eyes on the newcomer.

“Sinister.”

A few gasps were heard while the man smirked.

“You’ve already forgotten what you are supposed to call me?”

“I’ll never call you that again.”

Sinister just nodded.

“Not yet. But you will. I’ve brought some of your old friends with me.”

The green smoke appeared again and when it cleared, six more people were standing in front of them. Amora was standing together with two women that the avengers recognized as Vertigo and Arclight. On Sinister’s other side stood Riptide, Creed and Sunfire. The feral stepped forward a bit. That earned him a growl from Logan, which he completely ignored. He smirked and said:

“Hey runt.”

Remy just glared at Sinister. He still hadn’t gotten up from his seat and didn’t make any moves to grab any weapons. Meanwhile Tony was looking at the blonde woman.

“Why are you with them Amora? You said you wanted to help.”

She nodded.

“I said that. But since when am I a person to believe?”

Bucky stepped forward a bit and put himself next to Tony.

“What do you want from us?”

Sinister smiled.

“Well, for starters, I want to see you suffer. All of you. Amora here will help me with that. She has some interesting memories of you. I want you to watch it. It will be fun to see you break.”

And suddenly Remy stood up. He took a few steps towards the man and the Avengers were surprised when none of the Marauders tried to stop him.

“Why are you doing this?”

The man sighed.

“Either you address me properly or I will have to tell one of the Marauders to teach you respect again.”

And they all noticed how Remy suddenly got more confident.

“Yeah, sure. As if that worked out in the past.”

Sinister just shook his head a bit.

“You never stop fighting right? But fine. I’ll let it go for now. By the end of the day you’ll be begging me to take you back. And those so called friends of yours will be begging me to take you away. If they haven’t killed each other by that time of course.”

The Marauders went over to sit on two of the couches with the men on the biggest one and the women on one of the smaller ones. Sinister took an armchair for himself. None of the Avengers moved.

“What is it? You afraid of the truth?”

Slowly they all sat down keeping as much distance between themselves and the Marauders. Remy was heading back towards the loveseat when he heard Sinister clear his throat. He looked back and saw that the man was pointing at the empty seat on the couch next to Creed. But before Remy could react he was dragged down onto a couch next to Logan. The feral was keeping a cold stare at Creed and the blonde man smiled at that. Vision took the empty seat next to Wanda while Sinister burst out laughing.

“Honestly, I don’t understand why you keep drawing all the ferals towards you Remy.”

Creed’s smile turned predatory.

“It’s his blood Master. And the spicy scent.”

Logan growled.

“Put your dirty hands on him one more time and I’ll cut your head off.”

“Possessive much? Didn’t know you would ever go down that road Jimmy. But you always were one to stalk your prey for a long time before you finally revealed what you really want.”

Remy froze. Logan turned to him and shook his head.

“You know he’s lying. I would never do that to you.”

But Remy was completely still. Victor knew Logan for a much longer time. And when he looked around he realized that he didn’t actually know any of the Avengers really well. Maybe only Tony. The Marauders on the other side he knew. He felt Logan place a hand on his shoulder and flew up from his place. Logan raised his hands.

“Calm down bub. You know me. I won’t hurt you.”

Remy shook his head.

“I don’t really know you.”

Then he walked over to the other side of the small table and slowly sat down on the armrest next to Vertigo. She put her arm around his waist and smiled. He smiled back. He didn’t have anything against her. Never had. Amora moved to the place next to Creed so that Vertigo could drag Remy onto the place between her and Arclight. The Avengers watched in surprise how he simply let her. He oddly enough fit with those people. Sinister smiled.

“Why don’t we start with Remy. Now that we have him on the screen. Maybe continue on with the Merchant of Death.”

Tony looked positively furious.

“I’m not him anymore!”

Sinister chuckled.

“Hit a sore spot?”

Tony looked down onto his lap. Yes. It was a sore spot. He hated it when people still used that name even though he had stopped making weapons long time ago. Wanda hung her head in shame. She had been one of those people who called Tony that even though she knew that he wasn’t that person since long ago. Sinister nodded towards the ceiling.

“Play it then AI.”

Nothing happened and Tony, along with some of the Avengers, smirked. Friday would not be intimidated by anyone. Remy sighed.

“Please Friday. Just do it.”

Another few seconds passed and then the video played again.

_Victor put the cards on the floor and leaned back a bit. After a few seconds Remy reached over and took the cards._

_“Why are you still fighting?”_

_Remy started to shuffle the cards._

_“I can’t join him Vic. I can’t do it. Those people he wants me to find. They are the worst. If he is leading them something bad will happen. I don’t wanna be a part of that. Iggy and Ari are different. I thought I could give them a better life here. They still can change. But the others won’t. And I don’t wanna be a part of whatever he is planning.”_

_He started to deal out the cards when Victor reached a hand out. He let it hang in the air and caught Remy’s eyes. The boy froze._

_“Trust me Remy. I won’t hurt you.”_

_They sat like that for a few minutes and then Remy slowly put his hand in Creed’s. The feral smiled and a second later Remy threw himself forward and buried his face in Creed’s jacket. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes. Creed hugged him._

_“Shhh. It’s alright. It will be fine. He just wants you to find those people. Nothing more. If you just agree everything will stop. The torture the pain. I have a flat not far from here. Iggy is currently living there with me. You can stay there with us. You don’t have to stay here. Just agree with him. It isn’t easy for me either. I don’t want you to get hurt. No one here wants that. But you have to understand that it is for your own best. We are doing this to protect you. Just agree Remy. Please.”_

_After a few more minutes Remy nodded._

_“Oui. I will.”_

_Creed stood up while still holding the cajun close to him. He opened the door and they walked out together. Creed led him to a big door and knocked on it. A few seconds later it opened. A small man stood in the opening. His eyes widened when he saw Remy. But before he could say anything Creed pushed past him. He was now more supporting Remy than hugging him. The room was a big library. In one of the expensive armchairs sat Sinister. He looked up and there was surprise in his eyes when he noticed who Creed came with._

_“What’s the meaning of this Sabretooth? I told you not to go down to him.”_

_Creed simply let go of Remy who took a few steps towards the red eyed man and slowly sunk down to his knees. Sinister looked even more surprised. Then Remy slowly started to talk._

_“I have reconsidered. I will do it. I will find them and bring them here. I’ll work for you. Maitre.”_

_Sinister smirked._

_“Good.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many of you would be interested in reading a story about the X-men finding out about Remy's past in a different fanfiction?


	39. Psychologist Clint

The clip ended and the Avengers looked over to Remy. Steve was the first one to speak.

“You had a choice and you choose him?”

Remy looked down but before he could answer Clit spoke up.

“It wasn’t really a choice Steve. You never blamed me for what I did when I was with Loki right? Or Bruce for what the Hulk did when he was under Wanda’s influence. Or Barnes for what he did as the Winter Soldier.”

Steve frowned.

“You were brainwashed or mind controlled back then.”

Clint ignored him and turned to Remy.

“Did he keep you isolated from everyone and everything?”

“Yes.”

“Did he make you feel guilty for the things you have done before you came to him?”

“Yes.”

“Did he control every single thing you were allowed and not allowed to do?”

“Yes.”

Remy’s answers were monotone. Tony noticed the anger that flashed on Sinister’s face and readied himself to protect Clint in case anything happened. And the archer continued.

“Did he try to make you completely believe his choices and not let you think on your own?”

“Yes.”

“Did he force you to ask for permission when you wanted to do anything?”

“Yes.”

“Did he try to make you believe that everyone that didn’t follow him was evil and wanted to hurt you?”

“Yes.”

“Did he torture you?”

“Yes.”

Clint turned back to Steve.

“Well I don’t know what you think but it sure looks like brainwashing and mind control to me.”

Steve frowned again.

“But he…”

“Brainwashing doesn’t have to mean a chair like in Barnes case or getting inside someone’s head like Wanda can do. Sometimes the brainwasher simply makes the victim believe in what he wants him to believe in. In Remy’s case he wasn’t fully brainwashed. It looks to me as if he still was fighting it. Just like Barnes was fighting Hydra. Remy has a strong will. And from what I understood he has shields in his brain that are supposed to keep brainwashing away from him.”

Remy was now keeping his eyes on Clint. He looked almost hopeful. Clint looked over to him and smiled.

“In Remy’s case, I believe he would never have broken. But what made him change his mind in that moment was Creed. He made Remy believe that it would all be okey. That they were right. That they were hurting him for his own best. I don’t know about you but it smells Stockholm Syndrome to me.”

Once again Steve protested.

“Stockholm syndrome is when the victim relates to the captor. He never related to them.”

“And how would you know that? Have you asked him Steve? The problem with you is that you never stop to LISTEN to other people. I’ve heard many people call Tony narcissistic and I am not going to say they are fully wrong.”

Tony threw him an annoyed glance but Clint just continued.

“But sometimes I’m wondering if you aren’t a bit narcissistic too. Sometimes I wonder if you even take other people into consideration.”

Everyone was staring at Clint. He was usually the clown of the group along with Tony. To see him so serious was a surprise. But what he said made them think. Steve had started a Civil War between the heroes only because of Bucky. But when they thought about it they realized that Bucky had never asked for it. Steve had done it because he wanted to have his friend back. And he never thought about the consequences. Clint went on.

“Remy was never one of them. Never. And he certainly isn’t one of them now.”

Sinister tilted his head.

“And what makes you believe that Archer?”

Clint smirked.

“This.”

At the same second Remy shot out of his seat. And first now did they realize that the sofa was glowing. Before Arclight or Vertigo managed to move, it exploded, sending the two women flying into a wall. Creed jumped up and charged towards the cajun but halfway there he was met with Logan.

“Wouldn’t think so.”

The two ferals started a wild fight. Meanwhile Riptide started to spin around. Remy’s eyes widened a bit.

“Take cover!”

Before they managed to do it, a few shurikens flew from the spinning man. Tony brought his hands up and created a shield. It was strong enough to stop the flying objects but keeping it up made it impossible for Tony to fight at the same time. Remy grabbed his staff and ducked under Sunfires fireblast. He jumped over the shield and continued towards Amora. She was trying to both attack his mind and hit him with her magic but she was no match to him. He spun the staff around and hit her in the head knocking her out. A second later he was sent flying by a strong blast that made almost everyone lose their balance. Arclight had recovered. Amazingly enough Tony managed to keep the shield up. Then T’Challa realized something.

“Her hold of the room is broken.”

Immediately he and Steve rushed out of the room to get the suit and shield. Tony turned to Vision.

“Get down to the garage, take one of the cars and go to Malibu. You know what to do there.”  

The android nodded and phased through the floor. Rhodey called his suit. It burst through the door and closed around him. Suddenly they heard Creed’s laugh. When they looked over to the two ferals, they noticed with horror that Creed had Logan pinned to the floor and was digging his sharp nails into each side of Logan’s throat. The canadian was choking on his own blood since the throat couldn’t heal with the claws there. Remy’s eyes flashed with anger. He charged towards them and used his speed to knock Creed off of Logan. Sharon was next to the fallen feral in an instant.

“Logan? Logan! Concentrate. Stop breathing. You need to let the wounds heal without getting more blood into your lungs.”

Suddenly Vertigo was next to them.

“Maybe he could get some vomit into them?”

She put her hands up but before she could do anything they heard a roar and she was thrown to the side by a very angry Hulk. Sharon smiled.

“Thanks Bruce.”

Hulk nodded and threw himself onto Sunfire who did his best to toast him. But at the same moment Rhodey shot into the air and flew into him. That gave Hulk enough time to jump onto the man. Steve put his shield in place for Natasha and Fury to hide behind while they were raining down bullets upon Sinister who was standing a bit away from everyone and watched the fight. But the bullet’s didn’t seem to do anything. Most of them stopped on their way there and fell to the floor. Wanda was doing her best to cover Pepper who was trying to get out of the room. That proved to be impossible when Hulk and Sunfire moved their fight to the doorway. She flipped the table, pushed Pepper down behind it and put herself between the woman and the fight. Tony was covering Clint and Sam while they tried to get a clean shot at the spinning man. Then suddenly T’Challa burst in through the door in his suit. He slid along the floor between Hulk’s feet and started to run towards Riptide on all fours. He passed Tony’s shield and continued. The shurikens and spikes simply bounced off of him. Riptide tried to back away but before he managed to the Black Panther was on him. That let Tony lower his shield. He started to fire at Arclight who was trying to attack Hulk. He was thrown by Amora’s power. He balanced himself out in the air and flew back towards the women. He dodged Amoras attack but fell to the ground when a sudden nausea hit him. And not only him. Clint, Sam, Fury and Natasha were on the ground too. Meanwhile Steve and Bucky had teamed up with Remy against Creed. But seeing the Avengers fall, Remy broke away from them and charged towards the green haired woman. She turned her attention to him but her power didn’t stop him. He kept his shields tight while he pulled a few cards out. The distraction made her drop her power over the others and Tony was up and fighting Amora a few seconds later. Natasha recovered fairly quickly to. She took the shield up and, while hiding behind it, advanced towards Arclight. Sharon was still trying to help Logan who’s healing factor struggled to clean his lungs from the blood. Suddenly Wanda screamed when one of Sunfires blasts hit her shield. It knocked her into the wall and left Pepper without protection. She quickly collected herself, came out from her hiding and leaned over the unconscious girl.

“Wanda?”

She looked around. The Avengers were losing. Rhodey’s suit was burned and the man had managed to crawl out of it in the last second. He was on his back trying to get up. Sharon was still trying to help Logan who had stopped moving now. Clint, Natasha, Sam and Fury had been knocked back by one of Arclights blasts and had trouble getting up. Steve and Bucky were struggling with Creed who had the inhuman healing factor which made him impossible to take down. Suddenly Remy screamed and fell to his knees holding his head. His eyes were full of pain when he looked over to Sinister. The momentary distraction let Vertigo knock Tony off balance again. Amora hit him with her power but he managed to block it from where he was on the floor. T’Challa was still fighting Riptide while Hulk was finally gaining the upper hand over Sunfire. Sinister smirked and walked slowly over to the kneeling Remy.

“What? Are your shields having trouble holding me out?”

Remy whimpered. The pain was horrible. He almost wished for the chair again. This was too much. Pepper slowly crawled over to where Natasha had dropped the shield. She picked it up and started to sneak around the fights. She managed to get around unseen and slowly creeped up behind Sinister’s back. Remy noticed her and understood. He let his eyes meet Sinister’s and smiled through the pain.

“Trouble? This is nothing.”

Sinister straightened up. He was going to say something but before he managed to do that, Pepper smashed the shield into his back. Somehow it didn’t even harm him. But the surprise was enough. Remy felt the pressure on his shields disappear and hit Sinister with his charged staff. The small explosion sent the man flying. He crashed into the wall and Remy quickly pulled Pepper in behind him. She was still holding the shield and her eyes were wide open as if she couldn’t believe she had done that. Then suddenly the Hulk was thrown through a wall by Arclight. She then blasted Steve and Bucky away from Creed. The feral grinned and charged towards Remy and Pepper.

“Victor please.”

Remy’s soft voice made him hesitate for a second. A second too long. A whole charged deck of cards hit him in the chest. The explosion was strong enough to throw him back and into the arms of a very pissed off Hulk.

“HULK SMASH!!!”

And he did just that. Creed was smashed around like a rag doll. Remy, seeing an opening, pushed Pepper towards Wanda who had now woken up. He spun the staff around and knocked Riptide on the head. Sinister looked furiously around.

“Amora.”

The woman quickly put her hand up into the air. Green smoke appeared around her and the other Marauders as well as Sinister. A second later they were gone.


	40. Split up

Remy rushed over to Logan and Sharon. She looked up at him with panic.

“He isn’t waking up.”

Remy put a hand on the other man’s chest. After a few second he sighed.

“There is still blood in his lungs. His healing factor is working for full but it may take around 10 more minutes.”

Sharon frowned.

“How…?”

“It’s moving. I can sense it. He’ll be fine.”

He then turned to the rest of the room. Tony and T’Challa, the two most unharmed of them were helping the others stand up. Clint swayed a bit.

“Damn. I was so dizzy I couldn’t even think.”

He had a few bruises on his body. So did Fury, Sam and Natasha but otherwise they escaped pretty unharmed. Steve and Bucky were scratched up from the long fight with Creed. Bruce had shrunk down to his normal self. He was so happy that he decided to wear the stretchy pants he had gotten from Tony. Rhodey managed to stand up on his own but was still shaky from being almost roasted in the suit. Wanda was slightly shaken up too but she was doing her best to keep it together. Pepper was still shocked and clutching the shield. Bruce kneeled down next to Sharon who was first now fully being hit by what had happened and was slowly starting to shake. Tony was calming Wanda down and making sure she didn’t have a concussion. Remy went over to Pepper.

“Madame?”

She turned to him slowly. There were tears in her eyes. He gently took the shield away from her and held her hands in his, creating a link between their minds at the same time. He sent calming emotions over to her and slowly she calmed down. He let go of her hands and smiled.

“You did an amazing job madame. Thank you for helping me.”

Tony looked over to him with slight surprise.

“You said that your shields are too strong for anyone to break through.”

Remy winced.

“Sinister is, has always been and will always be an exception. He can’t really get in but he can make it so painful that you want to give up.”

“He’s a mutant?”

Remy shook his head and answered while turning to Sam.

“He is an experiment. I don’t know how or when. But he was not born with those powers.”

Tony nodded and then they heard coughing. Logan was waking up. He coughed up blood for a few seconds and then looked up. His eyes met Sharon’s and she smacked his head lightly.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

He smirked.

“Which part? Fighting Creed or losing?”

“Dying you moron!”

Remy needed something answered before he went on with his life. He went over to them and kneeled down next to Logan.

“Logan?”

The feral looked over to him.

“I need to know the truth. About what Victor said.”

“I would never hurt you Gumbo. Or use you.”

Remy just kept staring at him. Logan sighed.

“I’m not him.”

The cajun just nodded. He knew but he didn’t believe. He couldn’t. He slowly stood up only to fall back down onto his knees. A sharp pain was going through his side. He pressed his hand to the hurting place and when he took the hand away a few seconds later, it was full of blood.

“Merde.”

His coat was unharmed but the shirt under it was shredded. Bruce went over to him and Remy quickly moved away.

“Let me help Remy. I won’t hurt you. I’m a doctor.”

But Remy just shook his head.

“You are a scientist.”

Understanding dawned upon Clint.

“Sinister experimented on you? He was a doctor AND a scientist.”

Remy nodded.

“Oui.”

Bruce’s eyes widened.

“I would NEVER…!”

But Remy interrupted him.

“You can’t know that.”

Then he looked around. The room was a mess. One of the couches had scratches all over from when Creed and Bucky had crashed into it. There were burn marks on the floor and walls. All the smaller furniture had been destroyed from Arclight's blasts. There was a big hole in the wall where the Hulk had been thrown. Tony went over to the cajun and helped him to the couch that was least damaged.

“When did you get that?”

Remy shrugged.

“Must’ve happened when I was fighting Creed. Didn’t feel it back then. Don’t know why.”

“Adrenaline rush. It can make it so that you don’t feel any pain in the moment something is happening. It’s natural.”

Remy looked over to Bruce who had said that. They stared at each other for a long moment and then Remy nodded.

“Fine.”

Bruce quickly moved forward while Remy shrugged the coat off and then took the shirt off. There were claw marks down his side. Bruce started to slowly examine the wounds while Sam went to the bathroom to get some wet towels and bandages.

“How fast is your healing factor?”

“If I concentrate enough I could get those healed in an hour.”

Tony nodded.

“Good. Because we need to make our move now.”

Everyone turned to him. Tony took over the leader role and said:

“We need to split up and start fighting back. You saw what happened here when we fought the Marauders. To be honest, we didn’t stand a chance. If Sinister hadn’t called them back we would have lost. If they team up with Dark Avengers AND Hydra, we’ll lose before the fight even starts. I have a few ideas but we need to split up to do everything right.”

One by one they all nodded. Tony continued:

“All right then. Me, Nat and Winter will try to get into some of the weaker Hydra bases. We need to get more information. With my powers and Nat’s and Winter’s skills, we should do fine. Rhodey. I want you to stay here with Pepper. Keep an eye on everything. Remy. You still have your bike here?”

The cajun nodded.

“Logan took it here in his truck.”

Logan smirked.

“I had to. Gumbo would have ripped my head off if I left it behind. I swear, he is worse than Cyke when it comes to his bike.”

Tony nodded and went on.

“Good. Wait a few hours so that you can get fully healed. Then I want you to take Wanda and go to Malibu to meet up with Vision there. Take your bike. It will be the safest option. Logan. How good can you track someone?”

Logan made an annoyed face.

“I kinda feel offended.”

“All right. I’m sorry. You know Emma Snow?”

Logan frowned.

“The Snow Queen? Sure thing. But why do you ask?”

“Emma is an old friend of mine. She is an Omega Mutant and it would be a big advantage to have her on our side. Find her and tell her that I need her help. Sharon, you go with him. A non mutant woman has more chance to calm Emma than a feral mutant with shady past.”

Logan smirked.

“You know me Stark.”

“Steve, Nick. I need you two to get into the UN files. Find more about Juliette Babineaux and Igor Malikov. See how deep they are in this shit. How much they really know.”

Fury and Steve nodded. Steve was surprised that he was still included in the planning so he didn’t say anything. Tony turned to the rest of them.

“Sam, Clint. I need you to break into Ross’ house. He is not stupid so he will not keep anything in his office. So he most probably has it hidden in his house. Find everything you can about those Dark Avengers. Friday will help you with the security. T’Challa. I would like you to travel back to Wakanda and see how much damage is done. Take Bruce with you. It will be good if he stays out of Hydra’s sight for now. All clear?”

They all nodded. Sam and Clint went out to get ready and get a car. Steve followed Fury out of the room after wishing the others good luck. T’Challa smiled and nodded to the others before he turned to Bruce.

“I’ll wait in the jet doctor Banner.”

Bruce nodded and turned to Pepper.

“Pep?”

She moved forward and hugged him.

“Be careful Bruce. Very careful.”

He hugged her back with a smile.

“Of course.”

They let go of each other and Bruce went out after T’Challa. Logan went over to Remy and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“You’ll be fine kid?”

Remy nodded.

“Oui… Thanks Logan.”

Logan smiled and turned to Sharon.

“We should take my truck. I will draw less attention than one of Stark’s fancy cars.”

Tony shrugged.

“As you wish.”

Logan and Sharon left. Pepper nodded.

“All right. I’m going to my rooms to change into something cleaner and then I’m going to the Industries. I have some meetings and some things to get done. Let’s meet in an hour downstairs Rhodey. You need to shower and change your clothes too.”

She gave Tony a kiss on his cheek and then went out. Rhodey shrugged.

“You heard the lady. I have to go. Good luck you guys. Be careful.”

They nodded and he went out leaving Remy, Wanda, Tony, Bucky and Natasha. Wanda went over to Remy and sat down next to him. His chest was bandaged and he was visibly concentrating on healing himself. Tony took a deep breath.

“You two be careful.”

Remy nodded.

“You too.”

Natasha hugged Wanda, patted Remy’s shoulder and then turned to Tony.

“I’ll get the car running and wait in the basement.”

Bucky quickly caught on and nodded.

“I’m coming with you. Good luck you two.”

He and Natasha left and Tony flipped a low table right and sat down on it.

“Before we go I want to talk to you two. About what is going on between you.”

Wanda blushed a bit while Remy suddenly looked wary. Tony quickly raised his hands.

“Calm down Remy. I’m not going to tell you to not be together if you really like each other. I just want to make sure that you are not just feeling this quick thing now and then decide to split up because one of you want out and the other is left with a broken heart. You have both been through tough things in life. I’m happy that you are finding happiness. I also need to make a statement. You are like family Remy but Wanda is my daughter. If you hurt her, there won’t be a place on the earth for you to hide. Understood?”

The cajun nodded quickly. He was still wary and he did his best to not look at Wanda. Her eyes had gotten wide open while Tony was speaking. Then she turned to Remy and, noticing his distress, took his hand in hers. He looked down at their hands and then up to her face. The fear she saw in them was striking. What he was afraid of was unclear to her. Then he looked back to Tony and nodded again.

“Understood.”

“Good. Now rest. Eat something before you go. And take a backpack with warm clothes Wanda. After going to Malibu, you will go to a very cold place with Vision.”

Remy frowned.

“Meaning?”

“Does the name Raven Darkholme say anything?”

Remy raised one eyebrow.

“Mystique? Whatever could you want from her?”

“I know her pretty well. She will help. She lives in Siberia currently. Keeps away from both X and Magneto. She doesn’t trust easily. Especially not if you are a mutant she doesn’t know. But she’s heard about Gambit.”

Remy nodded.

“We should be able to leave in an hour.”

Tony smiled. He then stood up and Wanda did the same. They hugged each other and Tony said quietly:

“Be very careful. Promise me that. Don’t get into any trouble. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know. I promise. You be careful too. I…”

She hid her face in his shirt, unable to say the words because of the fear that he would get scared because of it moving forward so fast. Tony smiled.

“I love you kid.”

Her eyes widened and finally did she dare to say it.

“I love you too dad.”

Remy was shocked. The “l-word” was never thrown carelessly when it came to Tony. If he said it, he meant it. Suddenly he felt envy. That Wanda was able to have this relationship with her adopted father. That he himself had messed things up so badly with Jean-Luc. But he forced those feelings away. Wanda had every right to be happy. He smiled towards Tony.

“Stay safe.”

Tony smiled back.

“Take care cajun.”

Then he let go of Wanda and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo. Which group would you like to read about first? Every one will get a chapter but I've decided to let you decide who you want me to post about first.


	41. The Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So I know that I'm supposed to write all about the action now but I kinda felt like I had to write this TALK first. So here it comes.

After Tony left, Remy was doing his best to not look at Wanda. So did she. She lifted her hands up and started to move the furniture back to it’s places with her power. Remy closed his eyes and leaned back to rest against the back of the sofa. After a few minutes, he felt the seat next to him move a bit when Wanda sat down. Without opening his eyes, he slowly said:

“I’m not going to hurt you.” 

She nodded. 

“I know.” 

They sat in silence for a long moment. In the end she spoke up again. 

“I don’t know why he talked about us. I mean, there is nothing between us. Right?” 

He felt pain. It was almost as if someone had put shrapnel in his heart. And suddenly he could relate to the pain Tony must have been feeling every day since Afghanistan. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. 

“Of course there is nothing. I…” 

His voice cracked and he simply couldn’t continue. She reached out to take his hand but he shot up from his seat, ignoring the pain in his side. 

“Don’t touch me. I have trouble with my control right now as it is. I don’t wanna do anything stupid.” 

She looked almost shellshocked. Then she stood up and tilted her head. 

“Stupid as in? You won’t hurt me Remy. You couldn’t even if you wanted to.” 

He shook his head. 

“I shouldn’t even have this talk with you.” 

Wanda was a bit confused but decided to press on. 

“What talk? You’re not really making sense now. And what stupid could you do?” 

“Oh, there are many things. Kissing you is on top of them right now. But as you said yourself, there is nothing between us. You don’t like me that way. And I am not going to be an asshole and try to change your mind. I respect you and your choices. I respect that you would never want to be with something as broken as me. So why don’t we just pretend that Tony didn’t say anything and that our conversation never happened. We can go on with our lives and no one will know.” 

He turned away from her and started to walk towards the door. Wanda was stunned but, understanding that she didn’t have much time before he left, she called out for him. 

“Remy wait.” 

He stopped but didn’t turn around so she walked around him so that they were face to face. 

“I’m going to tell you something. When I was a child, my family wasn’t very rich. I had a teddy bear that I loved. I had gotten him from a rich lady that I had helped. He was beautiful. One day, I took him to school and some kids got jealous. They took him from me and ripped him apart. I came home crying and told my mom about everything. She told me to stop crying and sew the bear up so that he was whole again. But I didn’t want him anymore because he wasn’t beautiful anymore. My mom then sat me down and said that it shouldn’t matter how the teddy looks. All the small marks and missing fur and ripped ear? They were what made him beautiful. I didn’t want to listen to her. He was ripped apart. Broken. And I didn’t want something broken. And then she told me that I should never judge something or someone by how they look. Because every little scar that they have is proof that they were stronger than whatever tried to hurt them. Every little scar has a history. She told me that my teddy was even more beautiful after the accident than before. Because he got a personality. He had a history that made him different from all the others. But that didn’t make him less beautiful. And when I looked at him, I realized that I loved him more the way he was with the stitches than when he was new. From that day on, I realized that real beauty comes from the inside. There are events in your life that change you. Some change the way you behave, other change the way you look. But underneath all that, you are still you. That’s not something anyone can change. So yes, you are broken. You have scars. But you know what. Those scars are what makes you, you. They show that you were stronger than everything else. You survived. They say that what’s broken can’t ever be fully fixed. But why fix it, when it’s still as beautiful as before? You are beautiful Remy. The way you are. Don’t ever let anyone tell you anything else.” 

He was staring at her with wide eyes. Then he leaned forward a bit and said quietly:

“I’m going to kiss you now.” 

She smiled. 

“I’m not saying ‘no’ to that.”

He quickly closed the distance between them. Wanda closed her eyes and put her arms around his neck while his hands found their way to her waist. They drew apart after some seconds but didn’t let go of each other. Remy smiled. 

“Does this mean we’re together?” 

Wanda nodded. 

“If that’s what you want. I have absolutely nothing against that idea.” 

He kissed her again and drew her closer but they had to pull apart again when she accidentally brushed against one of the wounds causing him to hiss in pain. 

“Sorry. Maybe you should sit down again.” 

He nodded and let her lead him to the sofa. They sat down and he reached out to take her hand. 

“Thank you Wanda.” 

She smiled. 

“There is nothing to thank me for. I love you Remy. I don’t know how I deserve you but somehow I got you. After all those years of hating everyone, and especially dad, I finally realize how wrong I was.” 

Remy frowned. 

“You hated Tony? Why?” 

Wanda closed her eyes. 

“When I was a child, my city got bombed. One bomb hit our house. There was a big hole. My parent just disappeared. Pietro grabbed me and rolled us under the bed. Then the second bomb hit. But it didn’t go off. For three days, while the rescuers tried to get to us, we were laying there. Staring at the bomb. And on it was one word. STARK. I hated him for that.” 

Remy was frowning even more.

“I’m sorry, but I still don’t get why.” 

She flew up from her seat. 

“I spent three days, staring at the bomb and wondering when Stark is going to kill us! He killed my parents! I think I had pretty many reasons as to ‘why’!” 

Remy gently guided her back to the sofa and shook his head. 

“Let’s think this way for a second. I create a gun. Someone takes that gun, goes out and kills your family. Who would you blame?” 

Her response was immediate. 

“Of course him. You don’t have any control over who uses your weapon.” 

Remy nodded. 

“Exactly. Then why do you blame Tony, when he wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger?” 

Wanda’s eyes widened. 

“I… I never thought about it that way.” 

He nodded again and took her hand. 

“I’m not going to say that there is no blame on Tony at all. He was a weapons dealer. If he didn’t create the weapons, no one would die from them. But blaming Tony for your family’s death is wrong Wanda. Especially since you said that it happened when you were a child.” 

Now it was her time to frown. 

“What do you mean by that?” 

Remy sighed. 

“I’m not sure if I should talk about this but it kinda feels like I have to. Tony never sold any weapons that were used against civilians. There was a man that he was working with. Obadiah Stane. He was double dealing under the table. Tony was furious when he found out and he did his best to stop Stane. But the damage was done. Hundreds civilians had died. He never stopped blaming himself for that.” 

Wanda was looking at her feet. She had been so wrong. All this time, she had been hating the wrong person. An innocent person. The real monster was Obadiah Stane. The real killer. And Tony had let her think that he was the criminal. 

“Why did…?” 

“Why did he let you believe he was guilty? Because that’s Tony. That’s how he works. He’s been blaming himself for all those deaths for a really long time. He most probably figured that it would be better if you had someone to hate than not know who to hate, and turn your hate on yourself. He would rather let you destroy him that let you destroy yourself.” 

She looked up. 

“I need to change this.” 

But Remy shook his head. 

“Don’t try to change the past Wanda. I tried and look where it landed me. With a crazy feral and a mad scientist after me. I tried to change my past. But I found out that it only makes you go crazy because you can’t do anything. But you can change the future. You can show him how much you love him. You can give him the family he never had. You and Natasha together. Who knows. By changing your future, maybe you can make other people’s future better.” 

She smiled. 

“Thank you Remy.” 

She carefully hugged him and whispered:

“I love you.” 

He just pulled her closer.

“I love you too cherie. I love you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think? Are there any other TALKS you would like me to write? Or more interactions between any of the characters? Which ones?


	42. Powers And Mistakes

They spent the next hour sitting and talking about unimportant things. In the end Remy stood up and stretched. The wounds had closed and there were now only scars there. 

“I’m going down to my room to get a new shirt. Meet me in the garage in fifteen minutes.” 

She nodded and he left quickly. It still felt odd to know that there was a person that really loved him. He took the elevator down to his private floor. Just as Tony had said, nothing had changed in his rooms. He had always felt at home in the Tower. The rooms were big and he felt almost as if he was back in New Orleans in Jean-Luc’s house. Not wanting to waste more time, he put on a clean shirt and pulled the coat on. He felt around in the pockets and noted that he had used up pretty many cards. He went over to the nightstand and pulled out two new decks. He put them in his many hiding places in the coat. After a few seconds of hesitation he slipped two more decks into the coat’s pockets and then divided one more deck into his pants pockets. Feeling ready for however many fights that would come, he went over to the phone that was on the bed and punched in Tony’s number. 

“Yeah.” 

“Thanks.” 

There was silence and then Tony answered slowly. 

“You’re welcome cajun. But remember what I said. She’s my daughter.” 

Remy smirked. 

“I know. And by the way. She doesn’t blame you anymore. I talked with her. About Stane and everything.” 

Once again Tony was silent. After a long moment he said quietly:

“Thank you.” 

Remy nodded. But Tony’s next question made him freeze. 

“Are you going to tell your father?” 

He closed his eyes. He should. He really should. After all, Jean-Luc had always been on his side. Even after he had been banished. Slowly he nodded. 

“I think I will. Not now. But I will.” 

Tony didn’t press the matter. 

“All right. Good luck with Mystique. And take care of Wanda.” 

Remy nodded again. 

“Always.” 

He hung up and threw the phone back onto the bed. He never had a phone with him anywhere. He remembered the most important numbers and knew where he could find phones to call in case something happened. And in case he couldn’t find a public phone, he could always steal one from a shop or someone. He looked around the room one last time and then walked out. He took the elevator down to the garage. Wanda was already waiting there with a backpack on her. 

“I took a warm jacket with me. And some other warm clothes. How bout you?” 

Remy shook his head. 

“This coat has kept me warm through the most of my life. By the way, I never freeze.” 

She frowned but let the topic go when she noticed that he clearly didn’t want to explain more. He went over to the motorcycle and swung his leg over. He motioned for Wanda to come over to him and, when she did, helped her sit comfortably. She looked at him with concern. 

“Helmets?” 

Remy smirked. 

“Calm down cherie. I won’t crash us.” 

He started the bike and Wanda was forced to grab his waist to not fall off when he started to drive. He left the garage slowly only to get his speed up when he came out on the road. Wanda buried her face in his coat to hide from the wind that was hitting her face. Remy on the other side, grinned happily. He always felt free when he was on the road. He loved the wind in his hair. He kept driving, stopping only for short bathroom and food breaks. After eleven hours he pulled over into the parking lot of a cheap roadside motel. He stopped the bike and stepped off. Wanda looked around. 

“Where are we?” 

He shrugged. 

“Somewhere near Indianapolis. I’m a bit tired. We’ll spend the night here and drive away the first in the morning.” 

She got off of the bike and stretched. A big yawn opened her mouth. Remy smiled. 

“Come on.” 

He took her hand and dragged her towards the reception. Well inside, he wrinkled his nose. The smell was horrible. Even for a street rat like him. Wanda actually looked a bit green for a moment. A man with long grey hair stepped forward to the desk. Remy soon realized that the man was the source of the smell. 

“Yes?” 

Seeing that Wanda was still a bit green, Remy took a step forward and said. 

“A room for two.” 

The man nodded. 

“What name?”

“LeBeau.”

He pulled out one of the cards Tony had given him and put it on the desk. But the man kept staring at him. 

“LeBeau? Jean-Luc?” 

Remy was shocked but decided to not show it. 

“No. I’m Remy. His son.” 

The man’s eyes widened. 

“Oh. Well then. Get out of here before I call the cops. And don’t come back. We don’t need you thieves here.” 

Remy sighed. If it had been just him, he would have simply left and slept under some bridge or in a back alley. But he knew that Wanda wouldn’t feel comfortable in such conditions so he decided that he would have to improvise a bit. He leaned forward and concentrated his charm on the man. 

“You will NOT call the cops on us.” 

The man nodded slowly. 

“I will not call the cops on you.” 

Wanda’s eyes widened but she didn’t say anything. Meanwhile Remy smiled softly. 

“You will take the payment and give us the key to the room.” 

The man just nodded and gave Remy a set of keys. The cajun smirked, took Wanda’s hand again and pulled her out of there. As soon as they got out, she turned around and hit him on the shoulder. He quickly raised his hands up. 

“What the heck?!” 

She placed her hands on her hips. 

“You mind controlled him! That’s not right!” 

He raised his eyebrows. 

“You shouldn’t be judging me here. I KNOW what you showed Tony. At least my power doesn’t bring people pain and nightmares.”

He saw the way her eyes widened and kinda regretted his words. But everyone that knew him, knew that he was touchy when it came to his powers. Before he could say anything more, she nodded sharply. 

“If that’s the way it’s going to be.” 

She snatched the key from his hand, turned around and started to walk towards their room. Remy closed his eyes and sighed. Of course he would mess things up. He started to walk towards their room without opening his eyes. He remembered the way back to the bike. Well there, he had to open his eyes again. Wanda was standing outside the room. Understanding that she was waiting for him, he picked up the pace and caught up with her. They stepped inside the room. Remy looked around and noticed with relief that there was no smell in there. He glanced over to Wanda. 

“Listen Wanda. I’m sorry.” 

She shook her head. 

“No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped. You were right. My power is hurting people. But it’s not like I can control it.” 

Remy raised his eyebrows again. 

“Really? Then how did you show them everything? How did you fight Ultron’s robots? I could easily say that I couldn’t control my powers when I was younger. When things blew up as soon as I even bumped against them. When the furniture exploded when I sat down. So don’t give me this ‘I couldn’t control it’ shit. It may work on others, but not me.” 

Wanda was angry. But seeing that Remy was simply looking at her, she took a deep breath and calmed herself down. 

“Can we not talk about this?” 

“You can’t run forever Wanda.” 

He then turned away from her, went over to one of the beds and crashed onto it. Immediately he felt his body and mind drifting away into sleep. But even in this state, he was aware of what was going on. A thief's curse. He never really slept. Always on his guard. Wanda sighed. She knew he was right. She had control. She had made mistakes in her past. She noticed that Remy still hasn’t relaxed on the bed even though it seemed that he was asleep. Wanda wasn’t sure but she wanted to help him. She went over his bed and sat down. She started to stroke his hair, concentrated and let some of her power seep into his mind. She wanted to give him some calm dreams, but instead found herself being pinned against the wall seconds later. Remy’s purple eyes were wide open. 

“Listen now cherie. If you want this thing between us to work, you need to knock this off. You’re acting as if you know everything best and you are not thinking about others. You need to stop this. It will only push people away from you.” 

Wanda was scared. Really scared. But then he let her go and laid back on the bed again. 

“You used your power on that man.” 

Remy sighed. It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to sleep anytime soon. He sat up and faced the girl. 

“Yes. I did.” 

“And still, you accuse ME of using it wrong.” 

The cajun tensed up. But he forced himself to relax again. He had to explain everything to her without snapping or there would be more problems. 

“Okey. Listen. Yes, I used my power on him. I’ve actually been using my power on many people through my life. I’m not saying that it is right. I KNOW it’s wrong. The way we are using our powers? That’s the exact reason why humans hate us. I’ve spent some short time with Magneto. I know how people treat us out there. Where you don’t have any protection from Tony’s money or Captain's fame. Out there in the open. We mutants are different. We have powers. We should use them to help other people. But most of the times we use them in a way that pushes people away. Makes other afraid of us. The way you were using your powers was wrong. Controlling doctor Banner, giving Tony those nightmares, using your power to hurt them. It was all wrong. Now, I’m not saying I’ve always done the right things. I’ve used my powers for bad more than good. I served Sinister, I worked with Creed, I spent some time at Strykers. I was a bad person. But I got another chance. You have it too. But to make your future better, you need to figure out what you did wrong. And now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to sleep. I’m planning on making another eleven hours tomorrow. Goodnight.” 

He laid down again and immediately fell asleep. Wanda sat down on the other bed and closed her eyes. She knew she had done bad things. But it was first now that she realized just how many.


	43. In Hydra's Hands

Sharon and Logan were quiet on their way downstairs. In the garage they saw Sam and Clint take off in one of Tony’s less  fancy cars. Sharon waved to them and they both waved back before they disappeared outside. Logan went over to his truck and opened the passenger door for Sharon. She slowly stepped closer. But before she could get in, the elevator door opened and Natasha and Bucky stepped out. They went over to the truck and Logan immediately noticed that Natasha was a bit nervous. 

“Everything alright Red?” 

They spy looked at him with wide eyes. Usually no one dared to give her nicknames. But then she remembered his healing factor and realized that there was probably really little that could really hurt him. So she simply shrugged. 

“Tony is talking with Wanda and Remy. I don’t really know what about.” 

Logan barked out a laugh. 

“My guess is that he is giving Gumbo the ‘she is my daughter and I’ll hunt you down if you hurt her’ talk. It’s completely okay. They will be fine.” 

Natasha slowly nodded. But then she reconsidered and shook her head. 

“It’s not that. I’m not afraid of Tony hurting them. He’s got control. But Wanda is unstable and I’m not sure about Remy.” 

Logan rolled his eyes. 

“Your little girl will be fine. She has more control then she lets on. She is clever with the whole ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’ act. And you don’t have to worry about the cajun. He’s got perfect control. He won’t let himself slip. They will all be fine. And we should get going.” 

Sharon gave Natasha a quick hug. 

“Be careful out there. And take care of Tony. He still hasn’t fully recovered from when he was in the coma. So just keep an eye on him.” 

Natasha nodded. 

“Always. We’ll take care of him.” 

Sharon smiled towards Bucky and then climbed into the truck. Logan closed the door behind her and walked over to the two spies. 

“Stay safe.” 

Bucky shook the feral’s hand and smiled. 

“You too. Make sure you come back in one piece. And remember that she is just a human.” 

Logan nodded. 

“I know. I’m not going to let anything hurt her.” 

Natasha smirked suddenly. 

“I know.” 

He raised his eyebrows. Then sudden realization hit him and he growled. 

“Shut up Red.” 

Before she could say anything, he jumped into the driver seat and slammed the door shut. The engine started with an angry growl and the truck took off. Natasha turned to Bucky.

“How are you doing?” 

He shrugged. 

“I’m still trying to understand everything that is happening. Jamie is alive. Jamie is Tony Stark. I tried to kill him. Hydra took his powers. Steve is a dick.” 

Natasha smirked. 

“Yeah. You got all that pretty good. But I think that you should let it all go right now and concentrate on what we are doing now. Let the other things go. I’m sure that, when everything has calmed down, Tony will sit down with you and explain everything.” 

At that moment, the elevator opened and Tony stepped out. 

“You guys ready?” 

They nodded and he pointed his hand towards a black jeep. Natasha got into the passenger seat which forced Bucky to take the back seat. Tony slipped in behind the wheel and said in a serious voice:

“We need a plan now. There is no idea in going back to the base that I was in. Ross is not stupid. He has most probably moved everyone from there. And we can’t go to any of the bigger one’s. We won’t be able to take them on alone. We need something smaller.” 

“Isn’t there a small base just outside of the city. It’s in the woods. I can guide you there if you want.” 

Tony nodded and started the engine. The drive to the base was quiet except for Bucky’s navigation. They drove about 20 minutes around in the forest before they finally spotted the base. It was a quite small building but all three of them knew that the underground of the house was big. Tony shut the engine off and turned to the others. 

“My plan is: you shoot, I cover you.” 

The other two nodded. They got out of the car and started to slowly head towards the front door. Suddenly it slammed open and an enormous man stepped out. He had red leather straps running across his chest and a round helmet with an opening for his face. On his hands he had brasses that looked to be made out of at least five centimeters thick metal. On his one side stood Vertigo. On the other stood a small woman. She was wearing a catsuit very like the one Natasha wore as the Black Widow. Her hair was shoulder long and blonde. Her blue eyes looked over to Natasha and she grinned. 

“Natalia. It’s been a while.” 

Natasha tensed up but didn’t move.

“Yelena. It’s nice to see that you are still alive.” 

Tony kept his eyes on the big man. 

“You are?” 

The man growled and Yelena put a hand on his arm. 

“Calm down Juggernaut. We have to give them all the options first. Those were the orders.” 

He glared down at her but stayed in his place. Yelena turned to Tony and said with a calm voice:

“You have three options right now. One: you give up and let us take you as prisoners. Two: you fight which will end in us winning and taking you as prisoners. Three: you try to run, we send Juggernaut after you, he brings you back after beating you up and we lock you here as prisoners. It’s all up to you.” 

Tony glanced over to Natasha and Bucky. She had pulled a gun out and he was keeping his eyes on Tony. They all nodded and then Tony fired his power towards the three enemies. Yelena ducked under it with agility that matched Natasha’s. Vertigo wasn’t that lucky. She was thrown back and hit the building. Juggernaut on the other side didn’t even flinch. He smirked and charged towards them with his head low. Natasha managed to duck under his fist with grace while Tony and Bucky simply jumped to the side and ended up in the grass. They were on their feet seconds later but before they could do anything, two darts flew towards them. One hit Tony and the other Natasha. Both yanked them out quickly but it was too late. They fell to the ground, unconscious, just seconds later. Before Bucky could react, Yelena appeared next to Tony and pointed a gun at his head. 

“Give up Barnes. Or you’ll be scraping his brain off the ground.” 

Bucky weighed his options quickly. But every single plan ended in Tony getting killed. So in the end, he put his hands up in the air only to have them grabbed by the giant man. 

“Good choice.” 

A heavy hand landed on his head. The force behind the blow was strong enough to knock even him out. 

                                                             ***

Tony was the first one to wake up. He noticed immediately that he was strapped to the wall with some kind of cuffs that blocked his powers. He looked around and noticed that he was in a big prison cell. On the wall to his right hung Natasha. Her red hair was covering her face but she breathed which made him more calm. Bucky was chained to the right of Natasha. His head was thrown back against the wall and his face was calm, almost as if he was sleeping. Tony’s head turned to the door. It was big and looked heavy and solid. Of course, he would be able to destroy it with his powers. But with the cuffs on, he was unable to do anything. Then he heard a groan coming from Bucky. When he looked over to him, he noticed the soldier waking up. 

“Winter?” 

Icy blue eyes met brown ones. Bucky dragged a deep breath and slowly moved his head a bit. It made him a bit dizzy but he kept moving it to make sure that he still could. 

“Damn. That giant knocked me out after you and Natasha fell asleep. It feels as if my head isn’t mine anymore.” 

Tony chuckled a bit at that comment but got serious a second later. 

“They had this planned. They knew we were coming.” 

Bucky nodded. 

“And they knew that they couldn’t use those darts on me since the serum would make them useless. But at least we know one thing for sure now. Ross has gotten at least some of the Dark Avengers together.” 

“And he already has them working with the Marauders.” 

They both looked over to Natasha who had said that. 

“Nat? You okay?” 

She nodded quickly. 

“Yeah. And I’ll be even more okay when I can lock Yelena and that giant up where they belong. On the Raft.” 

Tony looked over to the door. 

“You think we could make Vertigo help us?” 

Both Natasha’s and Bucky’s eyebrows shot up. 

“What?!” 

“I was just thinking. Remy seems to trust her even now. And he doesn’t trust easily. Maybe she would help.” 

Before they could answer, the door opened and Juggernaut went in along with Yelena. She pointed at Tony and smirked. 

“Let’s start with that one. I want to see how resistant he is. I’ve heard all about the things they did to him in Afghanistan.” 

Tony kept his poker face on but inside he was scared. He could stand torture. But if they were going to take Afghanistan into consideration, then waterboarding could come into play. And that was one thing he had not gotten over. Natasha and Bucky started to trash and shout at the two but they didn’t react. Juggernaut unhooked the chain that was binding Tony to the ceiling and started to push him out of the room. Tony quietly cursed when he realized that they were not going to do the mistake of taking his cuffs off. But then he repeated the old mantra in his head. He lived through Afghanistan, Vanko, Loki, Chitauri, Ultron and Captain America without his powers. He would live through this too. Glancing back to Natasha and Bucky he realized that he had to. If not for himself then for them. 


	44. Nice Try Hydra

Logan was glancing towards Sharon every few minutes. They were driving in silence, not even the radio on. The windows were open since the AC didn’t work. Again. Logan thought that he really should get the truck checked when something caught his attention. He turned his head slightly towards the window and dragged in a deep breath. And among the ordinary scents that he expected to feel in the area he noticed a strong scent of humans and gunpowder.  
“Sharon.”  
She looked over to him noticing the tone he was using.  
“Yeah?”  
“Get your gun ready. Something is going to happen. We are being watched by a few people with weapons.”  
Sharon frowned.  
“How…?”  
“The window is open. I can smell them.”  
For a moment she just stared at him. Then she slowly nodded and pulled her gun out.  
“You know, we are in the woods. This could be simply some hunters.”  
But the feral shook his head.  
“Hunters wouldn’t be so quiet. I mean, they would obviously try not to scare the animals off. But those people are trained to be quiet. If it wasn’t for the smell I might’ve missed them.”  
In the same second a shot rang out and Logan slammed on the brakes. He jumped out and growled.  
“Those bastards shot the tire!”  
He turned towards the woods and shouted:  
“Come out! We both know that you are there!”  
Sharon slowly stepped out of the truck and went around it to stand next to Logan. He kept his eyes trained on the forest. Suddenly ten men walked out of the woods. They had all guns pointed at the feral and the agent. Logan pulled his claws out while Sharon put her gun up. One of the men shook his head.  
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You may be impossible to kill. But is she?”  
Bucky’s words rang in Logan’s mind. ‘Remember that she is just a human.’ He looked over to Sharon. She seemed determined to fight but Logan knew that she was scared. So he slowly pulled the claws back in.  
“What do you want?”  
The man smirked.  
“We need you to do something for us. You’re going to go back to Stark Tower and get us some files.”  
Logan rolled his eyes.  
“Get some files? From Tony Stark? Are you that stupid usually or does someone pay you for it?”  
The man’s face became red and he pointed his gun at Logan’s head. The feral reacted quickly. He pushed Sharon towards the back of the car and threw himself towards the men. She ducked in behind the car and crouched down. Shots rang out and Logan growled. He was shot in the shoulder and hand but kept slashing around him without a pause. Five of the men went down quickly. Soon only the man that had spoken before, was standing left. His eyes were wide with fright as he noticed the bullets leaving Logan’s body and the wounds healing. He started to back away, only to find himself on the ground a few seconds later, with Logan on top of him. The feral put his claws against the man’s throat and said in a low voice:  
“I’m going to let you go. You’re going to go back to Hydra and report about your failure. And take those jerks with you. I made sure not to kill anyone. I’m sure you can call someone in to pick you all up. Understood?”  
The man nodded his head frantically. Logan smirked and stood up. He picked up the man’s gun and slashed it in two. All the other guns were already destroyed.  
“You can come out now Sharon.”  
She slowly left her hiding place.  
“You alright?”  
He nodded.  
“Yeah. But we’ll have to change the tire before we can continue. I’m glad I still have the spare one in the truck.”  
Logan quickly changed the tire while Sharon was guarding the man who was still shaking in fear. When he was ready, the feral nodded.  
“It’s done. Let’s go.”  
He watched the man while Sharon went around the truck and got into the passenger seat. Then he got in behind the wheel and started the engine.  
“Alright. Let’s go.”  
As they drove off, Sharon couldn’t stop looking over to Logan. He noticed it pretty quickly and smirked. He had taken the jacket off when he was working and was now in only a white tank top. He knew that women used to stare at his muscles, and usually it didn’t bother him. But this time he felt that he didn’t want her to be uncomfortable.  
“I can put a jacket on if this bothers you.”  
Sharon’s head snapped towards him and her eyes widened when she realized that he had noticed.  
“No. It’s fine. I was just wondering about some things.”  
“Like?”  
She shrugged.  
“How did you meet Tony? He never said anything about knowing the great Wolverine.”  
Logan smirked.  
“No, I suppose he didn’t. Well, I met him when he was pretty young. He had crashed his car when he was riding on a back road. I was passing by and offered him a ride. I didn’t realize who he was. In the beginning he was wary. He told me to drive to his Malibu Mansion. I didn’t really believe that a kid like him would live there, so I drove him to Brooklyn and asked where he really lived. He was shocked to learn that I really didn’t know that he was Tony Stark. He said that it was actually nice to meet someone who didn’t treat him like someone special but just letting him be a normal teenager. He started to tell me about Winter and his father abusing him. He pretty much told me everything. Even the part about his mutation. I gave him the number to Xavier’s school and told him to call me if anything happened. He called a few times to talk. Built a cellphone so that he could contact me immediately.”  
She glanced over to him but before she could say anything, he added:  
“We have a few more hour of driving before we get to Snow’s mansion. You should try to sleep.”  
He quickly explained how to move the chair and, after getting it in the right position, Sharon closed her eyes. She had to admit that she was tired now that the adrenaline had left her body. A few minutes later she was asleep. Logan glanced over to her. She was beautiful. Jean and Ororo couldn’t even dream to match her beauty. At least in his eyes. But he knew that he had to take it slow. Otherwise he would most probably screw it up. He drove in silence for five more hours. Then suddenly he pulled off the road onto a dirt covered path. His truck was barely fitting there and after a few minutes he pulled off onto another small road and stopped. The stop made Sharon open her eyes and look around.  
“We there yet?”  
He smiled hearing her sleepy voice.  
“Not really. We’ll have to walk a bit from here. This road was designed for smaller cars. My truck is barely fitting and I’m not going to risk getting stuck somewhere.”  
She nodded and they got out. Logan pulled his jacket on and pulled his claws out. Sharon, understanding that they needed to be ready, pulled her gun out. They started to slowly walk on the dirt path when suddenly a big gust of wind almost knocked them over. Logan steadied the woman and frowned.  
“That was odd.”  
“The wind. Yeah. Where did…?”  
But he shook his head and interrupted her.  
“Not that. What’s odd is that this wind smelled human.”  
Sharon frowned and looked at him with a questioning gaze.  
“What do you mean?”  
The feral sniffed in the air again. The smell was definitely there. He just couldn’t pinpoint why wind would smell human.  
“I’m not sure. Let’s just walk. Maybe it will happen again.”  
They continued walking but this time they were much closer to each other. Both were ready to attack in case something jumped them. The forest was quiet. And then suddenly another gust of wind, just as strong as the last one. But this time, Logan was ready. And this time he heard what he had missed before. Rustling of clothes. He turned to Sharon who was once again swaying a bit.  
“What the…?”  
“It’s almost as if this wind was a human. I heard clothes rustling and smelled human again.”  
Suddenly Sharon’s eyes widened.  
“It has to be... But that’s impossible…”


	45. It's A Trap

Sam glanced worriedly over to Clint. The archer was driving far over the speed limit. He passed the intersection while the light was red and Sam actually gasped.

“What are you doing Barton?! We’ll have cops after us if you go on like this!”

Clint just smirked.

“No we won’t. This car has STARK written on the plates. They know it’s no idea to stop a car with that name on. Tony told me that he sometimes raced the police cars. In the beginning. Because now they don’t even care.”

As if to prove the point they passed a police car. The policemen looked after them, but when they noticed the name Stark they simply shrugged. Sam sighed in defeat.

“Just don’t crash us.”

After another few minutes of driving they suddenly slowed down. They were on the outskirts of the city now. Clint parked between two of the houses and Sam looked over to him with surprise.

“Ross lives here? I would have expected something… more expensive.”

Clint smirked.

“This isn’t his main house. Not many know about this. And that is why we are here. I doubt he would keep anything in the house in the middle of the city.”

Sam nodded.

“Good thinking.”

They went out of the car and looked around. People were walking around everywhere. Some kids had climbed onto the fences to look at their car. Clint waved to them and they quickly turned away and ran back to their homes. Clint opened the trunk and pulled two hoodies out. He threw one to Sam and put on the other one. They dragged their hoods up and put sunglasses on. Then Clint handed a backpack to Sam. He took up a briefcase and slammed the trunk closed. They started to walk down the road. To anyone else they looked like normal people but they knew better. Inside the backpack were Sam’s wings while Clint’s bow was in the briefcase. After a few minutes they came to a nice looking white house. Sam glanced over to Clint.

“You couldn’t park a bit closer?”

Clint rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, sure. Because no one would get suspicious if Tony’s car stopped outside Ross house.”

Sam shrugged. The archer was right. They slowly made their way over to the front door. Clint checked it out and shook his head.

“Back door. We’ll be covered by the fence then.”

They quickly went around the house. Clint smirked.

“Sliding door. He really felt comfortable here.”

Sam frowned.

“What does a sliding door mean?”

Clint looked at him as if he had suddenly grown a third head.

“I’m kinda happy that Remy isn’t here right now. A sliding door is a thief's best friend. You have no idea how easy it is to open one of those.”

He put the briefcase on the ground and quickly pulled the bow out. At the same time Sam took the wings out of the backpack. He put them on and put the goggles on. Clint nodded and they both moved towards the sliding door at the same time. But before they managed to get there, a big blast threw them back. Sam pulled his wings tightly around him and they cushioned his fall a bit. Clint on the other side didn’t have the same luck. He hit the fence with a crash and slid onto the ground. They looked at each other and Clint quickly started to speak.

“Go. Get away from here. 10880 Malibu Point, 90265. It’s the address for Tony’s Malibu mansion. Meet up with Viz, Wanda and Remy there. I’ll buy you some time.”

Sam shook his head.

“No way! I’m not leaving you behind.”

Clint slowly stood up and looked down at Sam.

“I’m partly like Remy. I know how to live on the streets and hide from everyone. And with your wings you have a much bigger chance of getting away from here."

He put an arrow on the string and aimed towards the house.

“GO!”

Sam swore, stood up and flew up into the air. He saw Arclight and Amora come out of the house. Arclight sent a wave of her energy towards him but he avoided it swiftly in the air and steered towards the city again. He felt bad for leaving Clint behind, but the archer had a point. Between the two of them, Clint had more chances of running around and hiding. He pushed the wings to their limits. He flew to an airport and landed among the people there. Some were looking at him with fright others were cheering. He rushed towards one of the receptionists and asked:

“When does the next plane for Malibu leave?”

Her eyes widened when she looked at him and she pinched her arm.

“You… It’s you…”

Sam rolled his eyes.

“Yes. It’s me. Now can you tell me the next plane to Malibu? It’s important.”

She nodded and quickly checked the computer.

“There is one that is going to close it’s doors in five minutes.”

“Good. Write me up on the list there. Charge it on Tony Stark’s account.”

He then got up into the air and flew over to the exit. He flew over the building and towards the plane. He landed on top of the stairs and nodded to the guards. They looked at him with surprise but didn’t try to stop him. He went in and took an empty seat. He felt a bit bad for doing it this way but he had to get to Malibu as fast as possible. He leaned back and sighed when the plane lifted. All he could do now was to wait.

                                                                    ***

Clint was staring at the two females. Amora was smiling while Arclight had something like sadness in her eyes. She stepped forward but stopped when he pointed the arrow directly at her head.

“Wait. Don’t shoot.”

He nodded to show her that he would hold it to let her speak.

“You don’t have to do this. I know how you feel. A street rat turned into a soldier.”

Clint snorted.

“You’re confusing me with Remy. He was a street rat. I was a circus kid. But I guess it’s close enough.”

She frowned but continued.

“Either way, they turned you into a soldier. Be honest. Did you really want this? Fighting all the time?”

“And did you read the contract for working with Hydra or did Sinister just give you away? Because it seems that you are the one who doesn’t want to be here, sweetheart.”

Her eyes widened a bit but she collected herself in seconds.

“I’m trying to help you here. Join us. We’ll treat you right. You don’t have to be with them.”

Clint actually smiled at that.

“What is this? Some kind of school competition? We are better than they are. You’ll be cool if you hang out with us. And let me think about that. My answer would be… Hmmm… No.”

He then released the arrow. As he predicted, Amora used her power to stop it. But it was a mistake. It exploded and filled the air with thick smoke. Clint quickly turned around and jumped over the fence. He ran through the backyards and jumped over fences until he reached the car. He quickly started it and drove off. He knew he had to get away before the women managed to get a car of their own. He wanted to drive to the Stark Tower but then he remembered that there was a big chance that Pepper would be there. He thought about going to the airport but then he remembered that Sam was most probably there. He could not risk them getting caught together. He decided to drive around until he could come up with some place to go. Then he remembered that Bruce and T’Challa had gone to Wakanda. Wakandian borders were heavily protected.

“Friday?”

He was hesitant about trying to talk to her in the car since Tony hadn’t installed the AI into every car. He felt relief when she answered.

“Yes Clint?”

“Does Tony have any private jets somewhere?”

Instead of answering she pulled up a picture of Natasha and Bucky in a prison. Tony was on another picture with blood all over him. Clint almost drove into a tree. He pulled off the road and stopped.

“What is that?!”

“Boss, Winter and Natasha were captured by Hydra. I just managed to hack into their security cameras. But I can’t do much more.”

Clint wrecked his brain for plans. Suddenly he got an idea.

“Logan and Sharon went to find that mutant. Emma Snow. Do you have any ideas where they might be?”

Friday sounded almost offended when she answered:

“Of course I do.”

Then after a second she added in a friendlier voice:

“There is a tracker in Sharon’s phone. The navigation to where they are is already in the car’s GPS.”

Clint smiled.

“Thanks Friday. You’re the best.”

Her voice was happy when she spoke the next sentence.

“Thank you Clint. You aren’t that bad either. I’ve also sent a text to Sam’s phone that you got away.”

Clint nodded and started driving again. With the speeds that he was keeping, he calculated that he should reach Logan and Sharon in a little bit under three hours. Especially with the way people literally moved out of the way seeing the name ‘Stark’. He just hoped that Tony, Nat and Bucky would be okay until he could get help.


	46. Sudden Change Of Heart

Remy and Wanda had been going for another eleven hours when they had to stop again. But this time, since Remy couldn’t find a motel, he simply parked the bike in a back alley and dragged Wanda with him deeper into the alleys. After a few minutes they came to an opening where people were sitting around a big fire. Some people looked over to them but seemed to be calmed by Remy’s appearance. Wanda looked nervously around and kept close to Remy. He sat down on the ground in front of the fire and Wanda quickly sat down next to him. 

“Is this how you lived?” 

Remy nodded but then shook his head seconds later. 

“Not really. Of course, you could find a fire in some back alley sometimes but not as many as there are here. And the people weren’t that friendly. If you didn’t have anything to give them in return, you weren’t allowed to sit by the fire.” 

Suddenly an old man approached them and stretched his hands out. In them he held two pieces of bread and a bottle of water. Remy smiled and accepted it. 

“Merci, monsieur.” 

The man smiled a big smile when he heard the respect in Remy’s voice. He turned around and sat down on his place again. Remy tried to give one of the bread pieces to Wanda but she frowned and whispered to him:

“You aren’t going to eat it right? Who knows where he was keeping it. Or where he found it.” 

Remy turned fully towards her. Some of the people closest to her did it too since they had heard what she said. Whispering started and soon everyone was looking at them. A man stood up and strode towards them. 

“Any problems  _ ‘princess’ _ ?” 

Wanda’s eyes widened but before she could answer, Remy stood up. 

“I’m sorry for her. She isn’t used to this life.” 

The man looked Remy up and down. 

“And you are? Nice coat, expensive shirt and pants. You look like a city boy.” 

Remy tilted his head. He had one ace up his sleeve but he decided to wait with using it. He stepped towards the man. 

“You better back off now. Before it gets ugly.” 

The man smirked and took a step towards Remy. 

“You wouldn’t even be able to do anything to me.” 

Remy kept staring at him for a long moment. Then he suddenly took a few steps back and put his hands up. In them he held a gun and five knives. The man’s eyes widened and he started to check his pockets. Remy smirked. 

“I think these are yours.” 

The man looked around to the amused faces of the other people and then back to Remy. The cajun stretched the weapons back to the man. He took the weapons and put them back in their pockets. Then he looked up at Remy and smiled. 

“I guess I was wrong. Where did you learn?” 

“New Orleans. First streets and then Thieves Guild.” 

The man’s eyes widened again. 

“You were part of the Guild?” 

Some of the people around them laughed. 

“Really Johnny? You don’t recognize him?” 

The man called Johnny shook his head.

“Not really.” 

Remy took a few cards out and started to throw them around. And suddenly realisation seemed to hit the man. 

“LeBeau. Remy LeBeau.” 

The cajun smiled. 

“Nice to meet you too.” 

He then sat down next to Wanda again. The man looked from him to her, shrugged and walked away. Some people nodded to Remy and then they seemed to lose interest in him. Wanda looked over to him.

“Is everything fine?” 

He nodded. 

“Oui. They aren’t bad. Just careful.” 

He started to eat the bread. Wanda looked at it for a long moment and then lifted it to her mouth and took a bite. After chewing it for some time she shrugged. 

“It doesn’t taste so bad.” 

Remy smiled. 

“It’s food.” 

They sat looking around for another half an hour. Then someone brought out an old guitar and they started to pass it around and play. A man made a jumpy version of Wake Me Up. A couple sang a beautiful duet of Hallelujah. Remy played a traditional cajun song and passed the guitar to the next person. After a few more people, a man whose face was hidden under a big hood, took the guitar. He started to play and Wanda felt Remy freeze when the first words left the stranger’s mouth. 

_ “I hurt myself today _

_ To see if I still feel  _

_ I focus on the pain _

_ The only thing that’s real _

_ The needle tears a hole _

_ The old familiar sting  _

_ Try to kill it all away _

_ But I remember everything.” _

Wanda looked from Remy to the stranger. The cajun seemed to be frozen to his spot. He looked like a person who had been struck by a lightning. And the man just continued. 

_ “What have I become  _

_ My sweetest friend  _

_ Everyone I know goes away _

_ In the end _

_ And you could have it all  _

_ My empire of dirt  _

_ I will let you down _

_ I will make you hurt.”  _

Wanda had a feeling that she had heard that voice before but she couldn’t place it anywhere. Next to her Remy was keeping his eyes on the singer. The hood was still hiding his face so she couldn’t see who it was or why Remy would have such reaction to him. 

_ “I wear this crown of thorns _

_ Upon my liar’s chair _

_ Full of broken thoughts  _

_ I cannot repair _

_ Beneath the stains of time _

_ The feelings disappear _

_ You are someone else _

_ I am still right here. _

_ What have I become _

_ My sweetest friend.”  _

That was when the man lifted his head and looked straight at Remy. And Wanda understood. She had seen those animalistic eyes before. And she realized why Remy was shocked. Victor Creed had found them. And the feral continued singing while keeping his eyes on Remy.

_ “Everyone I know goes away  _

_ In the end _

_ And you could have it all  _

_ My empire of dirt  _

_ I will let you down _

_ I will make you hurt _

_ If I could start again _

_ A million miles away _

_ I would keep myself _

_ I would find a way.” _

He ended with a soft outro and then passed the guitar to the next person. Then he stood up and went over to where Remy and Wanda were sitting. He took the hood off and smirked. 

“Hay runt.” 

Remy slowly stood up. 

“Not here Victor. These people didn’t do anything.” 

Creed smirked and raised one eyebrow. 

“I wasn’t going to kill them. But fine, let’s go.” 

He walked past Remy while the cajun stretched his hand out to help Wanda stand up. She hesitated but took his hand and they followed the feral towards a dark alley. He opened one door and went in. Remy stopped and turned to the girl. 

“If he tries anything just turn around and run. I can take care of him.” 

Before she could answer, he went into the house. She followed quickly. Remy was nervous. He had gone against Creed before but this time he had Wanda to think about. Creed was standing in the first empty room. Remy and Wanda went in and stopped close to the door. The feral smirked. 

“Scared?”

The cajun rolled his eyes. 

“I stopped being afraid of you long ago. What do you want? We would like to go back to the fire.” 

Creed nodded. 

“Fine. You’re being followed. And not by me. Or not JUST by me. Actually they didn’t want to send me after you since they decided that I have a soft spot for you. They think that I’m somewhere in Malibu already and dealing with that machine.” 

“Vision is NOT A MACHINE!” 

Victor rolled his eyes at Wanda. 

“He smells like a machine. That’s enough for me. But going back to the important. Morgan Le Fay followed you. She lost you a bit away from here but she is a fairy. Those things are almost impossible to trick. I followed Remy’s scent here. Now I want to help you.” 

Remy snorted. 

“Help? Last time I checked you tried to kill us.” 

“People change. And really, what choices do I have now that I helped you? Amora and Sinister are mind readers. And I don’t have your shields. I’ll be dead as soon as they see me.” 

Remy tilted his head. 

“Convince me.” 

Wanda’s eyes widened. 

“You can’t possibly consider it!” 

The cajun shrugged. 

“He isn’t lying about that one. If he goes back after telling us this, he’ll be dead. Sinister won’t forgive him. Me, yes. Him, no. Now talk.” 

Victor leaned on the wall behind him. 

“Ross followed your movements. He knew where Stark, the redhead and the Winter Soldier went. He sent Juggernaut, Yelena and Vertigo to ‘welcome’ them. Vertigo contacted me. They got caught. Stark is in really bad shape. He is all the time saying that he will build something and begging them to stop. And something about some Yinsen. She couldn’t talk more since that little spy is literally everywhere.” 

Wanda shook all over. 

“We have to help them.” 

But Remy just shook his head. 

“No. Keep talking.” 

“Alright. Arclight and Amora were sent to protect Ross’ house. Riptide and Sunfire were supposed to catch War Machine and that other ginger. Jimmy and that blonde girl were followed by Hydra agents. There was supposed to be a trap but knowing Jimmy it most probably failed. Fury and the American Flag were supposed to be taken into custody by Doom and his doombots. Moonstone followed the king and Hulk to Wakanda. I don’t have any information about how it went for any of them. I just know what Vertigo told me.” 

Remy seemed to think for a moment and then he nodded. 

“Fine. I kinda believe you.” 

Wanda forcefully turned his head so that he was looking at her. 

“ARE YOU COMPLETELY MAD, CAJUN?” 

He took her hands in his and shook his head again. 

“You don’t get it Wanda. With Sinister it doesn’t work the same way as it is with Tony or the Captain. If you betrayed them, they would let you explain. They would let you back into the Avengers. If you betray Sinister, you are dead. There is no coming back. And I know that it’s not a trap. Because I know Sinister. If he was going to set a trap on me he would have used Iggy or even Ari. But not Victor.” 

Then he turned from a shocked Wanda, to a smirking Victor. 

“This doesn’t set things right between us. Just so you know. But we’ll have to work together on this one.” 

He pulled out a phone from Wanda’s pocket and scrolled through the contacts. Then he punched ‘call’ and put the phone up to his ear. After a few signals Clint’s voice answered:

“Wanda? Are you alright?.” 

“No, it’s Remy. And yes, she is. I heard about the trap in Ross house. You fine?” 

“Yeah. We made it. But we had to split up. Sam is on a plane to Malibu right now. I’m going to join Logan and Sharon but it seems that they left their truck in the woods and simply vanished. I’m trying to track them down since neither of them answers their phones. But how did you know about the trap?”

Remy sighed. He hoped he could have avoided that question but it seemed that he would have no such luck. 

“Victor decided to change sides. He told us about Tony, Natasha and Winter being captured.”

This time Clint sighed. 

“Yeah. I know that too. Friday managed to hack the security and get some footage. That’s why I’m trying to track down Logan and Sharon. I need help to get them out.” 

The cajun was thankful that Clint didn’t question Creed’s sudden change of heart.

“If Logan doesn’t want to be found, you won’t find him. I would advise you to go back to the Tower. Sunfire and Riptide are supposed to attack madame Potts and Rhodes. They need extra protection. See if you can get T’Challa and doctor Banner back too. They are the only ones that have any chances against these two. Logan and Sharon will be fine. Me, Wanda and Victor will continue to Malibu.”

“Damn it! They had it all planned didn’t they?! Alright. I’ll head back to the Tower and contact Bruce. Good luck Remy.”

“Good luck.”

He ended the call and handed the phone back to Wanda. 

“We’re going to Malibu. We need backup if we want to help Tony and the others. But this time we are going by plane. I’ll leave my bike here. I’ll miss her but it’s necessary. Let the fairy think that we are still somewhere here.” 

His eyes met Creed’s and they both nodded at the same time. They knew that it was war now. And, once again, they were on the same side. However much they hated it. As the three of them were walking towards the airport, Remy wondered if he would have to steal the tickets or if it would be enough to use his power on the receptionist to make her give them to him. He also tried to figure out where Logan and Sharon had disappeared. And what Hydra had done to break Tony.


	47. He's WHAT?!

Wanda, Remy and Victor arrived in Malibu just as Sam was going out. He stopped shocked, seeing the feral.

“What  is HE doing here?!”

Wanda shrugged.

“Don’t ask ME. It was the cajun’s idea.”

Then she walked past him, most probably to talk to Vision. Sam turned to Remy.

“Okay. I admit. This is not one of my best ideas. But he want’s to help. And, since Clint told me that he doesn’t know where Logan and Sharon are, Victor is our only chance at finding them. It’s almost as if he and Logan have each other’s scents burned into their minds. You maybe don’t care about Logan as much as I do. I understand that. You don’t know him. But think about Sharon. She…”

“Remy, your rambling.”

The cajun quieted and glanced to Victor who had said that.

“Well, I’m so sorry for trying to help you. Feel free to explain everything yourself.”

He turned away from him and stormed off towards the house. The feral rolled his eyes. Sam waited until Remy had disappeared inside the house before he turned to Victor again.

“Alright Creed. What do you want? Why is Remy suddenly protecting you? Last time I checked he wanted to hunt you down and you wanted to kill him.”

Victor looked taken aback.

“Kill him? I never wanted to kill him. Everything I did, I did to take care of him.”

Sam snorted.

“Yeah. Sure. Because slashing someone up and then leaving them to bleed out is taking care about them. Because drinking their blood all the time is taking care of them. Because hunting them all over the country is taking care of them. Because letting them believe that you want them dead is taking care of them. Yes. I soooo believe you.”

The silence that hung between them was heavy. In the end Victor spoke up and it was very clear that he was holding back anger.

“You don’t understand any of this. Remy is right. You don’t know how it is to live in our world. There is no mercy. No forgiving. If you slip, you are not needed. You get killed. Yes, I slashed him in those tunnels. But if I haven’t, one of the others would have killed him. I told him that too. The only one who would hesitate was Iggy. Possibly Ari. But not the others. I knew that his healing factor was fast enough to heal him. If I had known that he would get himself captured by Stryker, I would have dragged him back to Sinister. That man has always turned a blind eye to most of the things Remy did. And yes, I drank his blood. But that was to make a point. To establish that he was mine. No one else dared to even look at him the wrong way after that point. The fact that his blood is like a drug is just a bonus. Yes, I hunted him all over. But I did it only because I wanted to keep an eye on him. He has a tendency to get himself into trouble. I was furious when Jimmy managed to get him away from me, but that was only because I couldn’t keep an eye on him anymore. And lastly, yes, I let him think that I want him dead. But note that I say THINK, not BELIEVE. Because deep down, he never believed that I would kill him. He knows that I would never. I know that my methods may have been odd. But at least he is still alive.”

Sam was completely shocked. It didn’t add up in his brain. Even if he was to believe the feral, it still didn’t make any sense.

“But why? Why do you so desperately try to protect him then?”

Victor turned his head away from the other man. Sam waited a few seconds but, getting no answer, he turned around and was going to go back to the house when he heard Creed’s quiet voice.

“He looks just like his mother.”

He turned back to find the ferals yellow eyes staring at him.

“She was beautiful. Really. So caring. And strong. Remy got that from her. The strength. The will to fight for what he thinks is right. She wasn’t a mutant. She was from an aristocratic family. She didn’t care that people would judge her for loving a mutant. But I made sure that no one found out. She got pregnant. When Remy was born, his power showed through his eyes. They were purple. Her parents understood. They threw her out in the woods. Beaten up. With the little child. I got there too late. She didn’t survive. I blamed her parents. I blamed myself. I blamed the entire humanity. But I couldn’t blame him. The worst part was that I couldn’t take him with me. I knew what I was. No feral is fit to raise a child. Some cajuns took him in. Promised they would keep him safe. So I left.”

Sam’s eyes were wide open. This couldn’t be possible.

“You… Remy… He is…”

Creed nodded.

“Yes. He is my son. That’s why I’ve been hovering over him for so long. I tried to visit him one time. When he was eleven. I figured that he would be old enough. I wanted to take him with me. But when I arrived, the cajuns told me that he had been taken in by the Thieves Guild. I went there. Talked to Jean-Luc. He explained that Remy had tried to rob him. And that he took him in and made him his son. I told him that Remy is my son. He said that I could meet him but forbid me to tell him anything. I wasn’t going to listen. But then I saw how happy he was. How comfortable he was with the other boy. Henry, I think. He called Jean-Luc _pere_. It’s cajun for father. And I left. I couldn’t stay. I have to say I was shocked when he found me at Sinister’s orders. I never would have imagined that he would join him. But that was the day when I promised that I would do whatever I could to protect him. And I failed. I didn’t manage to keep his mother safe. And I couldn’t manage to keep him safe.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. Out of all the things, this was the one he had not been expecting. He glanced back to the house. This kinda explained why Remy had the healing factor that didn’t really add up to his other powers. It was simply in his genes.

“You can’t tell him. I don’t even wanna know what he will do if he ever finds out. He hates me too much.”

Sam nodded.

“I won’t tell him. But one day, you’ll have to.”

They went into the house together. Remy’s hands were flying over the keyboard while Wanda was looking over his shoulder in awe. Sam was surprised too. He had thought that the cajun didn’t like technology and simply accepted the AI’s in the Tower. Victor smirked.

“Hey, runt.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up at the word but what surprised him was the small smile that appeared on Remy’s face.

“You’re never going to drop that name, are you Creed?”

“Never. And by the way, what happened to Victor?”

Remy rolled his eyes and continued to write.

“I don’t know the man.”

Creed swatted at the back of his head.

“Watch it runt. The fact that I went easy on you…”

That finally got Remy’s full attention. He turned his whole body so that he was facing Creed and spat out:

“Went easy on me? May I remind you of the time you slashed me open and left me for death? Were you very surprised to see that I wasn’t there when you came back to finish me off?”

Victor rolled his eyes and Sam had to admit that the feral was an excellent actor. That or he simply didn’t believe that almost killing his own son was so bad.

“Calm down. I never went back. As you know, I was captured by Stryker too that night. I did you a favor Remy. We both know that. Sinister would have forgiven you, sure. But what about Scalphunter? He’s always hated you. You really think he would have let you live?”

Everyone was silent for a long moment. No one dared to speak and disturb the staring contest between the two. In the end, Remy looked away first.

“Sorry. I’m just worried about Tony.”

Something like pain flashed in Creed’s eyes but it was gone before anyone but Sam noticed.

“I know runt. You get too attached. Like with that little raccoon toy.”

Remy’s head snapped up.

“WHAT did you just say? How do you know about that?”

Sam seriously thought that Victor had finally made a slip but then the feral just shrugged.

“You talk an awful lot in your sleep cajun. You’d be a terrible spy.”

After a moment Remy seemed to accept the explanation.

“Alright. Now leave me alone. However friendly you might act I told you the rules before. Especially the most important one. This doesn’t set things right between us. When this is over, you can go back to whatever organization you want to be a slave for. And don’t try to find me again. I caught you once. This time I might actually call someone who will be able to deal with you.”

He turned back to the computer and Wanda sat down on a chair next to him.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’m contacting some old friends. They know a guy, who knows a girl, who slept with a guy, who is best friends with a mutant in Russia. In that order too. I think.”

He shot her a grin and she giggled.

“Either way, that mutant will contact Mystique for us. We have to come up with a plan to save Tony and the others. And we have to move fast. If Tony is talking about Yinsen and building the Jericho then things have already gone too far.”


	48. Brilliant Plan

Logan was holding Sharon by the elbow while they made their way through the forest. At first she had complained that she was able to walk by herself, but she quieted when another gust of wind almost threw her to the ground. Had it not been for Logan’s firm grip she would have fallen over. At the same time that the wind came, they heard a strange sound. Almost as if the wind was laughing at them. And Sharon was certain. She didn’t know how it was possible but she knew that it had to be him.

“Stop messing around Pietro!”

Another gust of wind, this time in the other direction and a second after that they heard a voice behind them.

“Finally. I wondered how many times I would have to run past you, for you to catch on. Although I have to say that neither of us expected the feral.”

Logan spun around and attacked in one swift move but he simply landed on an empty spot. Pietro appeared next to Sharon with a smirk.

“Nice try. Wolverine right? He hoped you would come back to him one day. His greatest creation.”

Logan growled.

“Stryker.”

The speedster giggled and in the same second, a car came into view. It stopped behind Logan and out came a tall man in military clothes. Logan jumped towards the speedster and the boy was forced to relocate again. But this time it was exactly what Logan wanted. The move put Sharon hidden behind the feral. She was visibly shocked.

“What’s going on?”

He shook his head and kept his eyes on the newcomer. Pietro was still running laps around them almost as if he was playing. Logan kept eye contact with the military man. He drew his claws and growled again. The man stopped with a smile.

“Wolverine. I have to say that it’s nice to see you again. What do you think about my newest creation?”

“What did you do to him Stryker?”

Stryker’s smile widened.

“I saved him. He was badly hurt and on the verge of death. No one paid attention so I took him and flew off. I saved him, put him in a collar and locked him down until I found a liquid that gave me full control over his brain. Actually, it sounds like a story you already know.”

Sharon’s eyes widened when she put the pieces together.

“Remy.”

Logan nodded.

“He wasn’t the first and he wasn’t the last. But he was the only one who never broke.”

Stryker waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

“Details. I would have found a way if Creed hadn’t been stupid enough to release him. But let us not concentrate on dear Gambit. We have other matters to take care of. Like the new world order for example. You see, Hydra is offering me a good deal.”

The feral snorted.

“Hydra? You working for Hydra?”

Stryker shook his head quickly.

“No, no. Neither for or with. Let’s just say that with them on top I can have all the freedom I want to do my experiments.”

That made Logan growl. The guards lifted their guns a bit higher. Pietro just kept running around them without really paying attention. Logan had to admit that the constant movement and sounds around him made him a bit disoriented. Suddenly one of the guards fired. It was so unexpected that Logan didn’t have time to react. The bullet hit him in the head. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Sharon’s hand tightened on the gun. Stryker smirked.

“Put the gun down miss Carter. You stand no chance against us.”

Sharon glanced down at Logan. He was still out and she understood that there was no way she could go against those guards and Quicksilver without Logan. She slowly put her hand down and dropped the gun on the ground. Stryker nodded.

“Good choice. I really would hate to have to hurt a human.”

Then he waved his hand to the guards.

“Cuff her. Put the special cuffs on him and throw him into the back of the car. Quicksilver. Get back to the base.”

Pietro disappeared with a whoosh while the guards cuffed Sharon and the feral.To her surprise, she was placed on the backseat next to Stryker. Logan’s still motionless body was thrown into the trunk of the car. Stryker sighed when he noticed Sharon’s nervousness.

“You can be calm miss Carter. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m only after mutants.”

Sharon felt anger. Logan and Remy were mutants and they were nice. Tony was like a brother to her and she never had problems with him. Stryker must have noticed her expression because he sighed.

“Tell me miss Carter, how many mutants have you met?”

“Enough to know that they are not bad.”

The man sighed again.

“Let me try to guess. Logan obviously. You knew about Gambit, so him. You worked with the Avengers so you’ve met the witch and Quicksilver. But what about the other thousands?”

Sharon frowned. He had a point. She remembered the Marauders. Logan choking after Creed had tried to kill him. There were bad mutants out in the world.

“You are right. There are bad mutants. But there are also bad humans. And good mutants. And to be honest, what you are doing isn’t anything I would wish for even my worst enemy.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Good mutants? You must be talking about Wolverine. And our dear Gambit. But tell me one thing miss Carter. Are they really ‘good mutants’? Or just mutants that know what the punishment of going against humans is?”

And when she didn’t answer, he continued.

“You see, Wolverine was a very bad man. With no regard of other’s lives. He had been in so many wars through years that killing became normal for him. But he had enough mind to come to me. To let himself be tamed. And while he was under our control, he stopped killing. Or at least stopped killing whoever he wanted. The same went for Sabretooth. Although I have to admit that Mister Sinister did a really good job in taming him a bit. But under our control he became a good soldier that followed orders.”

Sharon tilted her head.

“And Remy?”

She noticed how his hands turned into fists and understood that the cajun was a touchy subject. So, of course, she continued.

“You don’t like to talk about him right? Your biggest failure. Not only did he never break but he also managed to get away from you and take one of your facilities down. And you failed.”

He reached over and slapped her with enough force to make her fall against the door. He collected himself a second later and helped her sit straight again.

“My apologies. But you did ask for that one, miss Carter.”

Sharon took a deep breath. Her cheek was stinging but she decided to ignore it and try to get the man to talk again.

“Why are you doing this? What plan do you have?”

He smiled widely.

“To rule the world, of course. Isn’t that everyone’s dream?”

She snorted.

“Right. Because that will be easy with Sinister teaming up with Hydra now.”

But he kept smiling.

“But that’s exactly it miss Carter. I stand on Hydra's side now. Lend them my mutants when the big fight comes. We take down SHIELD together. But before that, I’ll take over Wolverines mind. Send him after our dear Gambit. And send Quicksilver out to collect his sister. We might need that witch. Then, when SHIELD is down, I’ll send my mutants at Sinister and Hydra before they manage to regroup. Wolverine will be perfect against Sabretooth. Although I don’t think it will take much to convince Creed to rejoin us. And with enough modifications to his brain, Gambit should be strong enough to take on Sinister. See. With just a few moves I’ve already gotten rid of the Avengers, SHIELD, Hydra and Sinister. I’ll take over the Marauders and Dark Avengers. I might also consider keeping the Hulk. Possibly Stark. If he could be put in the mindset where he was the Merchant of Death, he could get useful. And the Winter Soldier of course. But brainwashing him shouldn’t be that hard. Especially not if we get hold of one of Hydra’s chairs. And then, I’ll send all of them against Xavier and that school of his. Once they are down, no one will dare to go against me. Now tell me miss Carter. Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful plan?”

A violent shiver ran through Sharon’s body. It was a good plan. A brilliant plan. And what’s even worse: It was a plan that had all the potential to succeed. Remy would never really hurt Logan. Even if his life depended on it. She was sure of that. But then she almost frowned. Was she really? She didn’t even know the cajun. And he HAD fought with Creed on numerous occasions and was still alive. The she realized something important. Stryker had mentioned Tony as the Merchant of Death. Not as a mutant. That meant that, however up to date he was with what was going on, he still didn’t know about Tony being a mutant. She glanced out through the window. She hoped that Tony was okay. Wherever he was.


	49. Ferals

It had gone an hour and Remy was still writing on the computer. He was getting visibly more and more irritated. Wanda and Sam had moved over to the table to eat something while Vision was trying to help Friday hack into the security cameras where Tony and the other’s were held. Victor was mostly staring out the window or going over to look over Remy’s shoulder. This annoyed the others but seemed to actually calm the cajun down. As if having a feral close to him was reassuring. A few minutes later they all realized why when Creed suddenly ran over to the window with a growl. Remy was on his feet and next to him a few seconds later.

“What?”

“A helicopter. Military most probably. They are too far away to hear who is in it but they are closing in pretty quickly.”

Remy ran back to the chair he had been sitting in, picked up his coat and put it on. He quickly checked all the pockets to make sure he had enough cards while Sam put his wings on. No one spoke as they all rushed outside. Just as they got out, the helicopter landed. The door opened and a man in military clothes stepped out. Remy stopped in shock while Victor growled. Before anyone had the chance to ask who he was, Logan jumped out of the helicopter. After him came a blonde woman with clear blue eyes. A whoosh was heard and then Wanda’s shocked gasp.

“Pietro.”

The speedster stopped next to the blonde woman and smirked.

“We got ourselves a nice group here, huh?”

She smiled. At that second Wanda started to run towards Pietro. She managed to pass both Sam and Vision, only to be caught by Victor. He quickly pushed her towards Vision who held her close to him. She was crying and trying to get away but the android refused to let go. Meanwhile Remy and Sam moved closer to each other.

“Any plans?”

The cajun nodded but before he could say anything they all fell down screaming in pain. All but Remy. He turned to the blonde woman. She looked at him with shock. Stryker put his hand up.

“That’s enough Snow.”

Immediately they stopped screaming. Vision was holding Wanda close to him while she was shaking in pain. He was shocked. How had anyone managed to mess with his mind. Victor, having the healing factor, stood up and moved over to Remy.

“I know you wanted to go after him. But you’ll have to leave him to me. Take care of the Snow Queen. We can’t win if she keeps messing with our heads.”

Remy glanced over to Logan. The feral was crouched down. Like an animal. Stryker must’ve noticed that because he smiled.

“Oh yes. I managed to get one of my soldiers back. One of the best. Say hello to Wolverine, Remy.”

The cajun tilted his head to the side and took a few steps towards the man. Victor and Sam made a move to follow but he stopped them with a hand movement. Seeing that, Stryker put his hand up and addressed the soldiers who had came out of the helicopter.

“Stand down. For now.”

Meanwhile, Remy started to talk.

“You know, I never really understood you. You call everyone by their codenames, but when it comes to me you suddenly know my name. You want to control mutants, but when you have them under your control you don’t seem to care much about keeping them there. As soon as they break, they become unimportant. What is it really about?”

Stryker frowned, almost as if he was really considering the question. Then he shrugged.

“I guess you mutants just stop being entertaining once you break.”

And then he nodded. The blonde woman attacked. But Remy was quicker. He dodged the rock she had tried to levitate at him and hit her with his bo staff. But her body simply changed into crystal. The sight shocked him for a second too long. Her punch threw him to the ground. He was up seconds later only to get distracted by furious growling. He noticed that Victor and Logan had started to fight. And both ferals were wild. Vision was trying to fight Quicksilver, while Wanda and Sam were taking care of the other soldiers. Stryker was simply standing to the side and watching. Emma Frost, the Snow Queen, attacked. Remy had to admit that, for a person made of what seemed to be diamond, she was very flexible. She managed to get him a few times while his attempts to hit her failed every time. The staff just bounced off of her body while she laughed. He felt blood start to drip down the side of his face after a vicious kick to the head. And that was when he realized something. She was made of DIAMOND. Which meant that, even if she seemed to be alive, she was an inanimate object. He let her kick him in the stomach and send him flying to the ground. She was next to him moments later but that was what he wanted. He used an old trick he had learned on the streets and flipped them around so that he landed with his hand on her throat. He concentrated on his energy and, as he had hoped, she started to glow. Her crystal eyes widened while the thief smirked.

“Say, how much do I have to charge you before you blow up?”

He kept a check on his powers. He didn’t actually want her to blow up. He wasn’t even sure if he would be able to go as far as to kill someone. But the fear seemed to be just enough. After a few seconds she changed back to her human form. And that was what he had been waiting for. He knocked her out with a hard blow to the head, only to freeze when he heard Victor’s scream of pain. He turned around and saw Victor, pinned to a tree by a thick metal rod that went through his chest. Blood was slowly coming out of his mouth but his healing factor didn’t allow him to fall unconscious. Logan was standing next to the tree and watching the other feral. Wanda on the other side, had much more luck. Using her powers she had managed to hold Pietro down, long enough for Vision to pull out a device that the man had imbedded in his neck. Immediately he stopped fighting and looked around with big eyes. Sam had managed to get rid of all the other guards and was standing next to the siblings and Vision, looking on with shock written all over his face, as Victor was writhing in pain. Remy stood up and grabbed his staff. Logan, hearing it, turned around to face him. An animalistic grin appeared on his face. None of the others dared to even move. Suddenly Pietro darted over to Emma and pulled the device from her neck. She woke up a few seconds later and everyone watched in horrified silence as Remy approached Logan.

“Logan. Wolvie. Please. This is not you. Don’t let him do this. You are not an animal.”

His voice was soothing. He was putting all his cajun charm as well as his mutant charm into it. He approached slowly. Almost as if he was approaching a frightened animal. Which Logan very obviously didn’t want to play. It became evident when he jumped towards Remy with his claws outstretched. But the cajun had been in enough fights with Victor to know how things worked. He ducked under the man and gave him a powerful hit on the back with his staff. Not that it helped. Logan landed swiftly and turned around to face Remy. He sniffed in the air and Remy realized that he was still bleeding. He glanced over to Victor. He had always gotten distracted by the scent of his blood. Logan had never really reacted to it, but then again, Logan never had gone completely feral with the cajun. When he looked back to Logan, he almost jumped. The man was much closer now, having moved soundlessly. Remy looked into the wild eyes of his friend and decided that he would have to do it if he wanted to survive. He let go of his staff and slowly sunk to his knees in front of Logan. He sat back on the heels of his feet and put his hands on his knees while he let his head fall back, showing his throat. He remembered the conversation he had with Victor before they became enemies. ‘If any feral out there tries to hurt you, and I’m not there to help, don’t try to be a hero. Get down on your knees, bare your throat and keep your hands where he can see them. It’s a sign of submission. He won’t kill you.’ He was nervous for a few seconds while Logan didn’t move. Maybe Victor had lied to him back then. But then he heard the man sniff the air around him. He noticed Stryker’s shocked expression. The man tried to get to the helicopter but was stopped by Pietro who simply knocked him out. All the others were keeping their eyes on Remy and Logan. Meanwhile, Emma was using her power to slowly pull the rod out of Victor’s chest. He bit into his lip to keep himself from making any sounds. Logan had now repositioned himself so that he was crouching behind Remy. He reached around him with one hand and put his claws to his chest. A silent warning. ‘You try anything and I’ll kill you.’ And Remy didn’t doubt that he would do that. His other hand grabbed the long brown hair and pulled his head further back so that it was resting on the feral’s shoulder. He lowered his head and sniffed at the cajuns neck. That was when Emma had finally managed to pull the whole rod out. Victor fell onto all fours and was going to leap onto Logan when their position really registered in his mind. The animal inside of him roared. And, since he never tried to pretend that he was a human like Logan had, he let the roar come out of his mouth. Logan’s grip on Remy’s hair tightened. Victor noticed it and growled:

“He’s mine.”

Logan bared his teeth.

“Not anymore.”

Then he quickly moved his head down and sunk his teeth into the place where the neck met Remy’s shoulder. The cajun cried out in pain. His whole body started to shake. Logan dragged him closer to his body and actually purred. He looked up at Victor without taking his mouth off of Remy’s neck. He licked at the blood and grinned.

“Delicious.”

And he bit down again. Remy whimpered quietly. And that seemed to be the last drop for Vicor. He tried to get closer but that made Logan bite down harder. Creed stopped. He didn’t really know what to do. His instincts told him to fight but it seemed that every time he moved closer, Remy got hurt more. He couldn’t attack without risking the boy’s life. Suddenly Remy shifted his head a bit so that he was looking Victor straight in the eyes.

“Victor…”

Logan’s eyes widened at Remy’s pleading voice. He growled.

“You’re mine.”

Suddenly he turned Remy around and that was what Victor had been waiting for. He attacked and managed to catch Logan off guard. They rolled around a bit and after a few hits Logan managed to throw Victor to the side. Remy took a card out and charged it but before he managed to do anything Logan sunk his claws into the cajun’s stomach. Remy cried out. And finally did the other’s snap out of the shock they were in. Wanda used her power to throw Logan off of Remy. Victor was next to the cajun a second later.

“Runt? Remy? Look at me.”

Remy slowly moved his head to look at the feral. He was holding his hands to his bleeding stomach. Wanda was attacking Logan ruthlessly. Vision was flying around him, trying to get the device that was stuck in the ferals neck. Meanwhile Sam rushed over to Remy and Victor. The cajun was struggling to stay awake. Finally Vision managed to get the device out of Logan. The feral collapsed but was up a second later.

“What the…?!”

He looked wildly around and stilled when he noticed Remy.

“Oh my God. Remy…”

He moved towards them only to stop when Victor growled. He looked from the feral to Remy.

“I…”

Victor growled again. Wanda slowly came over and kneeled next to Remy.

“We need to get him to a hospital.”

The feral shook his head.

“We can’t. Both Sinister and Ross are keeping eyes on hospitals. We’ll have to do our best to help him until his healing factor can heal him completely.”

Emma slowly came over to them.

“My name is Emma Frost. I was working as a nurse once. I could patch him up the best I can so that he can heal himself. Do you have some medical kit around here?”

Vision nodded.

“Mr Stark has a whole medical room. Doctor Banner insisted on it.”

Victor moved closer and gently picked Remy up, bridal style. Remy’s eyes slipped shut and he leaned his head to the side so that it rested against Creed’s chest. The feral purred quietly. The rumbling in his chest actually made Remy relax.

“Concentrate on healing, runt.”

“Don’t let… Him… Please…”

Victor’s eyes moved over to Logan and he showed his teeth. Logan took a step back and Victor smiled.

“It’s okay, runt. I’ll keep an eye on him. But you’ll have to let Emma take care of you.”

Remy looked ready to fight but then he caught the look in the feral’s eyes and nodded.

“Oui.”

Victor started to walk towards the house with Emma next to him. Wanda looked torn between following them and staying with her brother. Pietro must’ve noticed that because he took her hand and started to walk after the feral. Suddenly Sam realized something.

“Wait a second. Sharon. Wasn’t Sharon with you, Logan?”

Emma looked over her shoulder and answered:

“She escaped. I have no idea where to. But Stryker lost her.”

Sam glanced at Logan in time to see him look with hate at Stryker’s unconscious body.

“Let’s put him in the Hulk room. He won’t get out of there.”

Vision nodded and picked the man up. He floated over to the house, leaving Sam with Logan.

“Look, Logan…”

The feral shook his head.

“I promised him. I swore that I would never do that. That I would never become something like Creed.”

Sam sighed.

“I don’t know what to tell you. But I think the best would be if you stay away from Remy and Creed right now. Remy needs to rest. And I’m pretty sure Creed will make you suffer if he sees you.”

Then he turned around and headed towards the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than the others but I felt that I couldn't split it up. Thank you for reading and leaving comments. It really means much to me.


	50. Tony Is Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Chapter 50. I would like to thank all the readers. You don't understand how much you all mean to me.   
> I would also like to thank RDJISMINE_ANDMINEONLY and AmayaYoura who have been commenting on almost every single chapter I've posted and really given me the motivation to keep writing. Thank you very much. You guys are awesome!   
> Thank you again to all the readers.

Natasha was asleep. Bucky didn’t really know how she managed to do that. He couldn’t sleep. Not knowing what was happening to Tony was killing him. After the first time when they took him away, they didn’t get to see him again. He himself wasn’t tortured. Neither was Natasha. It seemed that Tony was the main target. Yelena sometimes came in to talk to Natasha but that was all. Suddenly Natasha’s head snapped up and she looked wide awake. In the same second he heard it too. Fighting. He heard a few screams and then the door was kicked in. Logan came in, claws drawn. Behind him was Sharon with her gun and a blonde woman. She put her hand up and the shackles opened. Natasha and Bucky both grunted when their hands came down from the place where they had been kept. Sharon rushed over to Natasha.

“You okay?”

The spy nodded.

“I’m fine. Where is Tony?”

Sharon put a calming hand on her shoulder.

“Wanda and Pietro are looking for him. Viz is keeping the big guy busy. Let’s go.”

Natasha’s eyes widened.

“What did you just say? Pietro?”

Realization struck Sharon.

“Oh, right. You don’t know. Pietro is alive. He had been kept by Stryker. But he is with us now. He is okay.”

Bucky looked out through the open door.

“Where are the others?”

Sharon looked out too but seeing that it was empty outside, she continued to explain.

“Clint and Rhodey are keeping an eye on Pepper. Bruce and T’Challa are on their way back from Wakanda now. Steve and Fury have not contacted us yet so we aren’t sure what is going on with them.”

Bucky frowned.

“And Sam? Remy?”

Both spies noticed the way Logan winced when the cajun’s name came up. Before anyone could say anything, a door blew up and Wanda came into the corridor. Behind her came Pietro. He was holding up a bloodied Tony who was trying to stand up on his own but it was visible that he was having trouble with that. Bucky rushed over to them and put his metal arm around Tony’s waist. Pietro let go of him when he noticed that Tony shifted his weight from him to Bucky. The soldier locked the metal arm to keep Tony up and turned to the others again.

“We getting out?”

Natasha nodded.

“Yeah. Logan, take the lead. You’ll be able to sense people in our way. Wanda, would you mind staying close to Tony and Bucky? Just make sure that they can escape if anyone attacks. Pietro…”

Before she could say anything, Pietro ran over to Emma and picked her up.

“Me and Emma will  get to the exit. We’ll make sure that everything there is clear and that you can get out without any problems.”

Natasha nodded and moved to stand behind the others.

“I’ll cover your backs.”

Pietro and Emma disappeared a second later and they all started to move towards the exit. Tony was doing his best to walk on his own but it seemed to be very painful. Amazingly enough, they didn’t encounter any guards on their way out. Pietro and Emma were standing at the exit. Five guards were knocked out on the floor next to them.

“It’s clear. The jet is waiting over there. Emma has kept it running with her power. We can leave as soon as you get there.”

Natasha nodded.

“I can co-pilot if you want.”

Emma smiled towards her.

“That would be great. Let’s go.”

They went outside and started to move towards the jet that was silently running next to the building. Logan was first in. He sniffed around.

“Clear. No one was in here while we were gone.”

Emma and Natasha went over to the front and sat down in the seats. Bucky sat Tony down on one of the seats and crouched down in front of him.

“Jamie. Can you tell me what happened?”

Tony’s eyes were a bit unfocused.

“Jamie. Please.”

He turned his head away. Bucky sighed while the others took seats in the jet and Emma got it into the air. Wanda moved closer to him. She tried to take his hand but he didn’t react. She leaned back a bit and started to talk.

“You know, me and Remy are together now. We got together after you left. We explained a few things to each other and even managed to have a couple of fights. But he is a sweetheart.”

Remy’s name seemed to get a reaction out of Tony. He turned his head towards Wanda and his eyes focused. Wanda, noticing that, kept talking.

“His bike is totally awesome. I never thought that I would ever like bikes but I would love to ride with him again.”

Tony blinked a few times and slowly turned to Bucky.

“Winter?”

Bucky smiled.

“Yeah. It’s nice to have you back. You wanna talk now?”

Tony shrugged.

“About what? I’m beaten up, nothing is broken, I have to change the reactor, I might have to ask Bruce to check if my lungs are alright because I might have taken in some water. My back is torn up but otherwise I’m fine.”

Wanda’s eyes widened but before she could say anything Emma turned her head around and said:

“Put belts on. We’re going into the super speed mode. We should get to Malibu in a few minutes.”

Everyone buckled down quickly. A few minutes later Emma landed on the roof of the mansion. Bucky helped Tony out of the jet only to freeze when he noticed Victor Creed coming out of the house. Natasha moved close to Tony but Wanda put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s fine. He’s on our side. However I dislike that.”

Creed nodded to Wanda and Pietro. Then he turned to Emma.

“He’s getting worse. I don’t know why. He was better, even managed to eat a bit. But now he won’t even talk. He just stares at the ceiling. I can’t get him to react to anything.”

The woman paled a bit.

“Let’s go.”

She and Victor hurried inside while Sam came out.

“Guys! Damn! You don’t get how worried we all have been! How are you? Tony? What happened?”

Tony shrugged.

“It was a trap. Where is Remy? And what is Creed doing here?”

Sam sighed.

“Come on. Let’s get you inside and I’ll tell you what happened.”

They all headed inside, Bucky still steadying Tony, and got into the living room. Everyone sat down and Sam started to explain.

“There was a trap at Ross house. Clint told me to fly away and sneaked away himself. He got to the Tower to give Pepper more protection while I got on a plane and arrived here. Not so long after, Wanda and Remy arrived. With Creed. Remy said that Creed had changed sides. After that Remy tried to get in contact with someone. Around an hour later Creed said that something was arriving. We managed to suit up and get out before a helicopter arrived. In it were Stryker, Pietro, Logan and Emma. The mutants seemed to be brain controlled in some way. Wanda and Vision took down Pietro while Remy dealt with Emma since he was the only one that didn’t get affected by her telepathy. Meanwhile Creed and Logan were fighting somewhere off to the side. Remy got Emma down at the same moment that Logan literally impaled Victor on a metal rod and pinned him to a tree. Remy tried to fight him but didn’t seem to manage to get him down. So he did something that I didn’t really understand…”

“He showed submission.”

Everyone turned to the door where a very tired looking Victor was standing.

“It’s something I told him to do if he ever encounters a feral and I can’t help him. What he did, staying down and showing his throat, means that he is not a threat. It is almost like an universal animal language. If you do that in front of a feral, you’ll get his attention. He will want to see who you are but since you are showing submission, they won’t attack. When he did that I actually agreed that it was a good idea. I just never expected Jimmy to go as far as to mark him.”

Tony’s head snapped towards Logan.

“You did what?! You promised him!”

“I know Stark! But it’s not like I knew what I was doing! Stryker knows how to make you do what he wants you to do. I didn’t have control over the animal.”

Victor growled furiously.

“Don’t give me that crap! I’ve spent much time with Remy! And I never acted like that with him. And everyone knows that I’m an animal. I’m a feral and I’m not holding back like you are doing all the time. For fuck sake, I’m addicted to his blood! But marking him like that? CLAIMING him?! That is beyond anything I would ever do!”

“You tried to kill him!”

“I saved him from the others! I said it before and I’ll say it again. If I hadn’t slashed him, one of the others would have killed him. I knew that his healing factor would be able to save him. Any of the other’s would have killed him immediately without hesitation.”

Logan was going to answer but didn’t manage to do it because Natasha cut in.

“Why are you so protective when it comes to Remy?”

Just then Vision floated in with a new arc reactor in his hand. He handed it to Tony and Natasha helped him change them up while Victor went over to sit on the empty couch.

“I have my reasons.”

Tony put the old reactor on the table in front of him and took a deep breath. At the same time Sam and Victor exchanged a look. Sam shrugged.

“It’s your story to tell.”

Sharon looked from one of them to the other.

“What story? What’s going on?”

Victor sighed.

“All right. Remy is… he’s my son.”

Everyone’s eyes widened. Logan suddenly groaned.

“That’s why…”

“I’m so protective over him? Yeah. It’s part of the reason.”

“And the other part?”

Victor turned to Natasha who had asked that question.

“His mother’s family was aristocratic. They hated mutants. When Remy was born, his eyes were purple. Her parents understood what had happened. They almost killed her and threw her out into the woods along with Remy. I couldn’t get there in time. She died. I took Remy and gave him to the cajuns. I knew that I couldn’t take care of him. I’m a feral that is working with all kind of people. If I had taken him with me, he would most probably have been killed or raised to be a killer.”

The other’s were still in shock when Emma came in.

“I stabilized him. It was late shock. He is also showing signs of PTSD. And he refused to let me give him painkillers. The needle almost blew up. And I want you Tony in the medical room now. I wanna make sure that you are really don’t have any life threatening injuries.”

Victor sighed.

“I’ll talk with him. He has a thing against needles and medics since Sinister experimented on him.”

Then he went out. Bucky turned to Tony and put his arm around his waist.

“She’s right. You need to be checked. No more of this ‘I’m fine’ bullshit. Your life and health matters as much as others. You have to start taking care of yourself a bit more.”

He helped Tony stand up and they followed Emma to the medical bay. Wanda got up and followed them, with Pietro and Natasha behind her. Sam looked between Logan and Sharon. The woman was very clearly trying to not look at the feral. So he stood up and turned to the elevator.

“I’m going to go fix some food. Nat, Bucky and Tony will need it. And I need to fix something light for Remy.”

And he went out.


	51. People Underestimate Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wondering this for a while. What/which tags brought you to my fanfic? I was thinking about that for some time now.   
> If you are interested in the X-Men movies do check out my fanfic called 'Peter tells Erik.'   
> If you want to see more of Remy check out my fanfics 'Remy Essex' and 'Remy joins the X-Men'.   
> Have a nice day you all and thank you for reading.

Fury was, well, furious. He really lived up to his name. Steve and the other SHIELD agents that they had managed to call together kept away from him. The building that they had set up as a temporary headquarters was surrounded by robots. Their leader, a man who called himself doctor Doom, had told them that if they don’t give up, he would sent the robots in and capture everyone. Fury had tried to contact Tony, Clint and Sam but, after the last call, he realized that they were cut off. Steve had offered to get out and fight but Fury quickly turned that idea down. They had no idea how those ‘doombots’ were working. And even with Steve’s enhanced body it could be dangerous. They needed either Tony with his mechanical knowledge or Rhodey in the suit. Fury had tried to send some of the agents out through a backdoor only to realize that the doombots had the place completely surrounded. And the words ‘surrender’ and ‘giving up’ didn’t exist in Fury’s dictionary. He was completely set on getting everyone out of there alive. Suddenly the computer that had been turned off because of the interference from Doom, kicked on again. The agents that were standing next to it jumped and hurried away from it. Steve and Fury moved closer. Both of them were shocked to see Clint, Rhodey and Pepper on the screen. 

“Director? Steve?” 

Fury moved closer. 

“Barton. How did you manage to do that? Doom has the whole place covered.” 

Clint smirked. 

“Doom is good. But Tony is better. Friday hacked the computer that we are talking on now. How many bots are there? Can we take care of them just me and Rhodey or should we wait for Bruce and T’Challa to get back here?” 

Fury shook his head. 

“We are surrounded, Barton. We don’t really have time. Think you can contact someone else? Stark or Wilson?” 

Clint shook his head. 

“Tony is hurt. He seems to be fine but he shouldn’t be out doing too much now. He needs to rest. And Remy is pretty messed up. He got hurt and it’s almost as if his healing factor can’t really keep up with the healing. He will not be able to do to much. We’ve got words that Creed has changed sides but he won’t be of any use since he won’t leave Remy’s side. And Emma, the mutant that Tony was talking about before, is acting as a nurse to him since he won’t let anyone else come close to him. I doubt Bucky will leave Tony alone. Especially now. I guess we could get a small team together of Nat, Logan, Wanda, Pietro, Sharon and Sam. But to be honest I’m not sure how much Sharon, Nat and Sam can do against robots. Logan, Wanda and Pietro could do a good number on them, especially Logan with his healing. But…”

“Wait a second Clint. Did you say Pietro?” 

Clint nodded. 

“Yeah. I forgot to tell you. Pietro is alive. He had been kidnapped by Stryker and controlled by him but he is fine now. I’ll contact them and ask if Pietro could run here to the Tower with Wanda. But I have no idea how to get Logan here quickly.” 

Fury shook his head. 

“Skip him. As I said, we don’t really have time now. I don’t wanna put any of the agents here in danger. Get the Maximoff’s to the Tower and get your asses over here. It should be enough. Especially since both me and Rogers can fight too. Contact the other’s too. Have Stark and LeBeau moved to the Tower. It’s safer than Malibu. One of Stark’s jets should be able to take them here without any incidents. And the others should be able to keep those two safe until they get to the Tower. Especially since Creed will be there and I can’t really see him allowing anyone to hurt the cajun. It seems to be something only he is allowed to do.” 

Clint nodded. In the background they saw Rhodey step into the armour. 

“He’ll contact Pietro and Wanda now. We’ll be there as soon as we can.” 

Fury nodded and the computer died. He turned to Steve and nodded.

“Barton is right. People underestimate Stark’s genius. There is very little that can stop that man.” 

Steve looked away. 

“He’ll never forgive me, right? None of them will.” 

Fury rolled his eyes. 

“Quit it Rogers. You brought it onto yourself. You should have known better than to think that Stark would simply leave the Avengers for someone like Ross. You guys were like his family. Just think about it. He lost his parents, Jarvis, Ana, Peggy and Winter. Obadiah betrayed him. He didn’t have anyone else. He started to think about you guys as his family. You really think he would just give it all up?” 

Steve looked away. 

“I honestly never thought about it that way.” 

Fury nodded. 

“Maybe you should think things through next time Rogers. It wouldn’t hurt you know.” 

Then he turned around to address the other agents. 

“You heard agent Barton. They will be here soon. Everyone get out of here once the fight starts and get to the second base. Set up headquarters there and get in contact with the Tower. I’ll get in contact with you as soon as we get there.” 

One of the younger agents stepped out. 

“But what if we want to stay and fight, sir?” 

Fury turned so that he was glaring at the man. 

“Get to the second base and wait for further orders. That’s an order. Understood?” 

The agent paled and nodded quickly. 

“Yes sir.” 

Just then they heard an explosion outside. The door blew off it’s hinges and Pietro appeared. He gently put Wanda down and she immediately started to fight the doombots that were coming inside. She made a clear path for the agents to escape through. Pietro nodded towards Steve and then rushed out again. A few more explosions were heard and Steve ran out with his shield in his hand. The fight was over in less than ten minutes. All the agent’s had managed to get away. Doom had fled when he saw his bots simply fall apart under the pressure of Pietro’s speed. Wanda turned to Fury and nodded. 

“Director.” 

“Maximoff.” 

Pietro made an extra round around the building before he came to a stop next to his sister. 

“There is a car behind the building. The others are already on their way to the Tower. We should get going too.” 

Fury nodded just as Steve went in. 

“Doom escaped.” 

Fury nodded the third time. 

“Alright everyone. Let’s go. Maximoff, you running or taking the car?” 

Pietro just disappeared. The other three went over to the car and Steve started to drive. Fury turned around to Wanda and asked:

“What’s going on with LeBeau? And Stark?” 

“Dad was captured by Hydra. Along with Natasha and Bucky. He was tortured before we managed to get him out of there. But he seems to be recovering fine. As to Remy… Stryker managed to capture Logan. Logan went feral and attacked along with Emma and Pietro. They were all controlled by Stryker. Remy fought Emma and managed to knock her out. Then he turned to Logan, who had managed to nail Creed with a metal rod to the tree. He tried to fight but understood that he couldn’t win over Logan so he put on some kind of show of submission. Creed explained it like something like that. Logan bit him and that seemed to be a bit too much to Creed. He jumped Logan and tried to fight but didn’t manage to do much. I think that he wasn’t fully healed back then. Remy charged a card but before he could throw it, Logan stabbed him with his claws. Remy is healing but it’s going slowly and there are some complications.” 

“And Creed?” 

Wanda hesitated. She herself didn’t really know how to answer that. She wasn’t really sure about Creed. But it seemed that Remy was calmed by the feral so she hadn’t protested. And finding out that Creed and Remy were related… 

“Creed is on our side.” 

Fury’s eyebrows shot up. 

“There is something you are hiding.” 

Wanda sighed. 

“If I tell you, you can’t tell Remy.” 

It was quiet for a few seconds and then Fury nodded. Wanda turned to Steve. 

“Don’t give me that glare Wanda. I won’t say anything.” 

The girl took a deep breath. 

“Alright. Creed is Remy’s biological father.” 

Steve’s hand slipped and the car swerved a bit. He got control quickly. 

“He’s what?!” 

At the same time Fury said with a stern voice:

“Watch the road!” 

Wanda almost giggled. At least she knew now that Fury wouldn’t say anything. She was actually surprised. Fury was far more understanding than she had thought he was. 


	52. Finally Some Good News

Steve, Fury and Wanda arrived at the Tower in time to see Victor carry Remy out of a big car. Wanda rushed out of the car and ran over to them. 

“How is he?” 

Victor shrugged. 

“The same. He is healing but slower than usually.” 

She nodded and turned to Pietro who was standing next to Emma. She had noticed already before that her brother and the blonde woman seemed to be very close to each other. Pietro, noticing his sister looking at him, ran over to her. 

“Everything alright?” 

Wanda took a good look at his face. 

“You’ve changed.” 

He shrugged. 

“I was kept by Stryker. That shit changes people.” 

“Are you and…?” 

This time he actually smiled. 

“Me and Emma? Yeah. We are together. And you with that cajun?” 

Wanda blushed. 

“Mmm.” 

Pietro’s smile turned creepy. 

“If he hurts you, I’ll hang him upside down on top of the Eiffel Tower.” 

Wanda smiled at that. 

“He’ll probably just start talking about how beautiful Paris is upside down.” 

“Maximoff.” 

Both siblings turned to Fury. He rolled his eyes. 

“Damn. I forgot that there are two of you. Quicksilver. Could you…” 

Before he managed to finish the question, Pietro had him pinned to the wall. 

“Don’t call me that. Don’t ever call me that again!” 

“Quicksilver.” 

The speedster turned around only to be met by Remy’s purple stare. 

“If you weren’t injured…” 

“You would what? Beat me up? Kill me? Prove HIM right? I know what you’re thinking. What you are feeling. They called me Gambit. They destroyed that name for me. But then I said: screw this. It’s my name. I’m not letting him take it away from me. You’ll be a coward if you let him.” 

Then he let his head fall against Creed’s shoulder with an exhausted sigh. His eyes closed and it seemed that he had fallen asleep. Tony went over to them and looked at Remy’s face. It was still too pale. Way too pale. 

“Do you think a blood transfusion would help him?”  

Emma looked thoughtful. 

“It could. But it’s not that easy. Even if one of us has the same blood group as he has, his mutation may not accept something new in his body. I wouldn’t want to give him a shock. Unless…” 

She glanced from Remy to Creed. The feral nodded. 

“I’m in. And I already know that his body accepts my blood. Sinister had to give him a transfusion once.” 

At the same moment the elevator opened. Bruce and T’Challa came out of it with serious faces. 

“Friday showed us you talking on our way down here. Will you need help with the transfusion miss Frost?” 

Emma nodded. 

“It might be helpful to have someone with your experience close by, doctor Banner.” 

Suddenly Tony swayed. Sam, who was the one closest to him, put an arm around his waist. 

“You okay Tony?” 

The man nodded. 

“Yeah. I’ll just have to sit down for a bit when we get to the medical. And eat something. Yelena tried to poison me whenever she gave me food and Vertigo made me throw it up again. I know I should be thankful but it still made me weaker. Are Clint and Rhodey still with Pepper?”

Bruce nodded. 

“I spoke with Clint just now. He and Rhodey are escorting Pepper back to the Tower right in this moment.” 

Tony gave a sigh of relief. He then turned to the rest of them and said slowly:

“Me, Creed, Remy, Emma and Bruce are going to the medical. Anyone else coming with us?” 

To his surprise everyone followed them into the elevator. Victor growled threateningly when he noticed how close Logan was standing to him and Remy. Logan put his hands up. 

“I’m not going to hurt him.” 

Creed snorted. 

“Yeah, sure. Didn’t you say the exactly same thing before?” 

Logan looked down and moved away from them a bit. That was the moment when Remy chose to wake up again. And the first thing he saw was Logan. He tried to move but Victor just held him more firmly and started to purr. Everyone except for Wanda, Sam and Logan seemed surprised of the fact that Victor Creed could do something as nice as purring. It seemed to calm Remy. He relaxed against the feral and looked around. His eyes stopped on Pietro. 

“After I escaped from Stryker I made up a small explanation that I sometimes used when someone wanted to know about me. Wanna hear?” 

The speedster nodded. 

“My name is Remy LeBeau. To my enemies it’s Gambit. You can go on ahead and forget the first name from now. Every man has a price to charge and a price to pay. I’ve paid mine in spades. If I’ve learned anything about life it’s this: Always play the hand you’re dealt. My name is Gambit. And I play for keeps.” 

Pietro was staring at him. 

“But how…?” 

“How can I just accept what happened? It’s not easy. It never will be. But you can’t let him change your whole life. That’s what he wants.” 

Slowly Pietro nodded. 

“Alright. I think I get what you mean. But I will punch you later.” 

Remy smirked. 

“Fair enough. I guess I’ll earn that for calling you a coward.” 

Creed rolled his eyes. 

“Rest, runt. This will go much easier if you sleep.” 

The cajun’s eyebrows shot up. 

“What will go easier? What are you planning?” 

“Transfusion. Needles. And you will let it happen.” 

Remy shook his head. 

“Non. Put me down Creed.” 

Victor just shrugged and put the cajun on the floor. Remy looked at him furiously and started to swear in a mix of cajun and english. Everyone stared in shock as Creed simply let him try to get up by himself a few times. After a few failed attempts, Remy sat down and sighed. His whole body was shaking and he was breathing heavily. One of his hands was pressed to his stomach where the wounds were, while the other was on his forehead. Creed crouched next to him. 

“You done?” 

Remy nodded softly and Creed picked him up again. The purring started and Remy actually fell asleep again. Whether it was from exhaustion or because he was getting worse, no one knew. They all went out of the elevator and headed towards the medical room. Bruce and Emma moved quickly to ready a bed for Remy while Sam helped Tony sit down on another one. A second later, Bucky appeared next to him and pushed him backwards. 

“Lay down and rest. And don’t argue with me.” 

Tony raised one eyebrow but stayed in bed as he was told. Meanwhile Victor had placed Remy on another of the beds and sat down on a chair next to him. He gently rolled up the cajun’s sleeve and then shrugged off his coat so that his own arms were bare. He kept purring since it seemed to keep the other man asleep. Emma came over with a syringe. 

“I’ll take your blood and then figure out how to make sure that he stays asleep.” 

Victor raised one eyebrow. 

“I might have an idea.” 

He gently lifted Remy and sat down on the bed himself. He leaned against the headboard and positioned Remy so that he was resting against the feral’s chest. The purring intensified and Remy seemed to relax even more. Creed put his arm next to the cajuns and said with a calm voice. 

“You can skip the syringe. Take it directly to him. There is no danger in that. My healing factor replaces blood quick enough.” 

Both Emma and Bruce hesitated. Then she nodded and started to ready the things. Sam tilted his head. 

“Why is he so calm when he is close to you?” 

“It’s not only me. All ferals have more intense emotions than ordinary humans or mutants. We are a big pain for telepaths. Especially me since I am constantly in the feral state. Jimmy and Hank McCoy are more human and would have trouble overwhelming a telepath like I can do. Remy on the other side is an empath. He gets emotion starved sometimes. That’s why he goes to clubs quite often. To feel others emotions.  A feral, actually any animal, that is purring is showing content. Relaxation. He feeds off of my emotions right now. It calms him down. Honestly, I’m not sure if any other empath wouldn’t get overwhelmed with a ferals emotions. But Remy is much stronger that even he understands.” 

He kept talking even when Emma had put the needle in and his blood started to flow. Tony slowly turned so that he was lying on his side. 

“Do you think that your healing factor might pass onto him? A bit at least? Maybe it will make him heal faster.” 

That made Victor frown. He gently raised Remy’s shirt and everyone’s eyes widened when they noticed how the wound’s were slowly mending themselves. Creed smirked. 

“Stark, you’re a genius.” 

Tony looked actually offended. 

“Did you really ever doubt that?” 

Creed pulled Remy’s shirt back down and shrugged softly. 

“Sometimes.” 

Wanda felt relief. The paleness was finally disappearing from Remy’s face. He seemed relaxed and not in pain. Pietro appeared next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Then he glanced over to Tony. He had heard Wanda call him dad but hadn’t had time to ask her what was going on. Just then the door opened and Pepper went in. Behind her came Clint and Rhodey. At the same second Emma smiled. 

“He’s getting much better. We’ll have to keep this up for just a little longer. He’s losing really much blood now that he is healing. I don’t think his blood replenishes itself. But he is in a stable condition. He’ll be fine.” 

Tony smiled too. Finally some good news. 


	53. One Down

They had moved Remy to one of the couches on Natasha’s floor and sat down on the floor since she didn’t have so much furniture. Not that it was Tony’s fault. But she had refused to have too much on her floor and he had respected that. Victor and Wanda were sitting close to where Remy was. Logan, seeing the other feral’s glare, sat down as far from them as he could. He still remembered the taste of blood in his mouth. He finally understood why Creed had been so addicted to it. A few minutes after they put him down, Remy woke up and sat up straight. His hands moved to his stomach but the three wounds were gone. The only thing left were the long scratch marks that he had gotten from Creed. Victor tried to push him down but he simply slunk out of the feral’s hands and sat down next to Wanda on the floor. He tilted his head. 

“How long was I out?” 

Tony shrugged. 

“Is it really important?” 

They looked at each other for a moment and then the cajun shook his head. 

“Non. As long as you didn’t lose time because of me then it doesn’t matter.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. 

“We didn’t. And I would gladly lose time is it meant you would get better.” 

Remy didn’t answer to that so he continued. 

“We need a plan. I was stupid to split us up. I’m sorry that you all got put in danger.” 

Sam sighed. 

“We are the Avengers, Tony. We are ALWAYS in danger. I’m sure we all would have made the same decisions as you. We are not mad.” 

Just then a green smoke appeared. Victor and Logan were on their feet in seconds. Natasha and Bucky had their guns drawn just moments later. They fired but the bullets simply bounced off the smoke. Amora stepped out of it and smiled. 

“Sit down and stay down.” 

Both ferals sat down as if they had been forced by some invisible hand. Remy stood up. Amoras eyes widened. 

“Oh, yes. You. Mind telling me why I can’t fully get into your brain?” 

The cajun frowned. 

“What do you mean ‘fully’? You shouldn’t be able to get into it at all!” 

He quickly felt around his walls and found it. A small crack from Sinister’s previous attack. He quickly strengthened the wall there again and Amora took a step back. 

“How are you doing that?!” 

“Ask your new master. He’ll tell you all about it. He’s been in my head enough times before.” 

Her face showed frustration. 

“He can get into your mind? And I can’t?” 

He smirked. 

“He can’t do it now. But he could. Before. Now tell us what you want and get out of here before I decide to let one of the ferals play around with you.” 

This time she looked more secure when she spoke up.

“And how would you do that? I have total control over all of them. I could make them kill you if I wanted to.” 

Remy sighed and turned his head to Victor. The feral, understanding what was going on, looked up. As soon as they had eye contact, the cajun smiled. 

“Stand up Victor.” 

The feral stood up. And Amora looked scared. For the first time she looked really scared. 

“Take him down!” 

All the Avengers stood up and turned to him. Remy quickly focused on Logan who was coming at him. 

“Stop! Sit down!” 

It was most probably because of the newly healed body, that he could use the full power of his mutation. The Avengers stopped and sat down. 

“Emma. Could you please change?” 

The woman quickly changed her form into crystal and seemed to relax. Meanwhile Amora was backing away. 

“How?!” 

“I’m an omega mutant. You should have asked Sinister about me before you came here to mess with us. Also, when Emma is in her diamond form, you can’t touch her mind.” 

He felt her attack his brain and had to concentrate to be able to keep his influence over the others while protecting himself. 

“Tell us what you wanted and get out.” 

She took a deep breath. 

“I want you to see the rest of the memories.” 

“Why? What do you get out of bringing others past up?” 

It was quiet for a long moment before she answered.

“I might be a Marauder now, but I was an ordinary sorceress before. I’ve seen the love of my life being taken away by his own family. Stark saved my life. I still owe him. By showing his past to the other’s, I’m helping him. No more secrets. Sinister won’t interfere this time. Just watch it.” 

Then the smoke appeared and she disappeared. Remy carefully dragged his hypnotic power back. Everyone except Emma, the super soldiers and the ferals, grabbed their heads. 

“What the heck?” 

Remy sat down. 

“I’m sorry. But I had to do something.” 

Clint waved his hand a bit. 

“Not that. What the heck is wrong with that woman? Whose side is she on?” 

“Sinisters. But she still loves Loki. That makes her want to help people. I think she is lost.” 

The archer lifted his eyebrows. 

“No offence Tony, but do you really have to see the good in everyone? Can’t we just agree that she is evil and leave it at that?” 

Natasha smacked the back of his head and he quieted. Meanwhile, Remy turned to Tony. 

“You okay with watching those memories? I somehow doubt she will give up easily. And I would rather not repeat what just happened.” 

Tony closed his eyes. He didn’t want it. He really didn’t want the others to find out about the rest. Especially now that they were becoming a family again. But on the other side, he figured it was only fair that they got to see it all. He knew all about them after all. He had seen all the files. Even the ones that Natasha had desperately tried to destroy. So he nodded. Remy sat down again and the others followed his lead. Victor growled softly. 

“You just had to get into my brain, didn’t you?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“Technically, I didn’t ‘get into’ you brain. I simply made sure that my will was yours. And yes, it had to be you. I know for a fact that in case of you being controlled, I am able to get you to follow me instead. I wasn’t sure about the others. And having a wild feral out of the way in case I had to fight the others was a good option.” 

Victor huffed and leaned his back against the couch. The windows dimmed and an image appeared on the wall. Suddenly it disappeared and a text appeared instead. ‘LET’S START WITH THIS ONE.’ And the memory started. 

_ Victor Creed was standing in front of a big mansion. He looked around. It was clear that he was nervous.  _

Creed flew up. 

“Shut it off!” 

The screen dimmed for a moment and another text appeared. ‘SIT DOWN CREED. YOU CAN’T TURN THIS OFF. IT’S TIME FOR THE TRUTH TO COME OUT.’ And the clip started again, forcing Creed to sit down. 

_ He slowly opened the front gate and stepped closer to the house. He sneaked around to the back and knocked on the back door. A maid opened it and her eyes widened.  _

_ “You! The young lady is not at home. You should leave.”  _

_ Victor sniffed around.  _

_ “You’re lying. I can smell her. Now get out of my way. And if you even dare to tell your master that I’m here, I’ll make sure no one will be able to recognize you again. Understood?”  _

_ The woman quickly nodded and he went past her. It seemed that he had been inside the house before because he went immediately upstairs and knocked gently on one of the doors. I opened, revealing a beautiful woman, with long brown hair and dark brown eyes. She smiled seeing him.  _

_ “Vic. Come on inside. My father is out on a meeting. Mother is in the hospital about the cold she got. We are alone.”  _

_ She dragged him inside and sat him on the bed.  _

_ “Would you like something to eat? Drink? You must be tired. I don’t even wanna know where you have slept these past days. I mean, not that I care. You can sleep wherever you want. But you could get ill.”  _

_ He shook his head with a smile. _

_ “Rosella. You’re rambling.”  _

_ She stopped and sighed.  _

_ “Yeah. I know. It’s just…”  _

_ He took her hand and dragged her over to him. She sat down and he nodded.  _

_ “Tell me. What’s going on.”  _

_ “You know that I love you right?”  _

_ The expression in his eyes softened.  _

_ “Yeah. I know. I love you too. More than you imagine.”  _

_ She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.  _

_ “I just… I don’t know how to say this.”  _

_ “Straight out.”  _

_ His response made her laugh softly.  _

_ “Alright. I… I’m pregnant.”  _

_ Victor’s eyes widened. She quickly grabbed his hands.  _

_ “Please don’t be mad. I love you.”  _

_ He shook his head.  _

_ “Mad? I’m not mad Rosie. I’m happy. I’m shocked. I… I love you.”  _

_ She smiled brightly and hugged him tightly. Tears were streaming down her face.  _

_ “You’ll be a wonderful father. I know it.”  _

The clip ended and everyone was staring at Victor. No one expected to ever see so much emotion coming from the feral. Remy tilted his head. 

“You never told me about a child.” 

But before Creed could answer, another clip started. Victor wanted to growl. He knew what it would be before it even appeared on the screen.

_ Victor was standing in the woods, sniffing around. Suddenly he must’ve picked up a scent because he started to run. A few minutes later, he appeared on a small clearing. Rosella was lying on the ground in the middle of it. She was bloodied all over. A knife was sticking out of her stomach and she had two bullet wounds in her shoulder. Her eyes were closed but her arms were holding an infant tightly to her chest. Victor rushed over to them and lifted her head up a bit.  _

_ “Rosie. Rosie, please.”  _

_ She slowly opened her eyes.  _

_ “Vic. They figured out.”  _

_ Her voice was quiet and careful. Almost as if speaking hurt her. Which it probably did.  _

_ “Shhh. I’ll take you to the medic. You’ll be alright.”  _

_ She shook her head and gasped in pain.  _

_ “No. It’s too late. Take our son. Please. Take care of him.”  _

_ But Victor didn’t seem to listen.  _

_ “They will heal you. They can do amazing things. You’ll be alright. I promise.”  _

_ She smiled.  _

_ “Victor. Don’t. Please. I feel so warm. I… Please take care of our son.”  _

_ She slowly moved the infant closer to Creed. He gently picked the boy up and looked into his glowing purple eyes. Rosella’s eyes were full of happiness, even though she was in pain.  _

_ “This is the way I imagined going away. With my husband by my side. Loved.”  _

_ Victor moved the boy, so that he was holding him up with one hand, and gantly lifted her head a bit higher so that it could rest on his lap. Tears were streaming out of his eyes.  _

_ “Rosie. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. If you never met me you would be alive.”  _

_ She used all her strength to lift her hand and wipe off some of his tears.  _

_ “If I never met you, I wouldn’t be able to find real love. Don’t apologize Victor. I love you. And I’ll never regret it.”  _

_ He smiled through the tears.  _

_ “I love you too.”  _

_ She looked over to the little boy.  _

_ “Can you do one last thing for me?”  _

_ He nodded.  _

_ “Anything.”  _

_ “Name him Remy. I always loved that name. And when he grows up, make sure he knows that he is loved.”  _

_ And with that, her eyes slipped shut and her hand fell to the ground. Victor bowed his head and started to cry even harder. As if knowing what had happened, the little boy in his arms started to cry too. After a long moment Victor stood up. His eyes were still wet but there was also something else in them. Hate and animalistic anger. He had gone feral. It was easier that way. He started to run with the boy still in his arms. He didn’t stop until he reached a small house. He knocked on the door. The woman who answered was old and had wrinkles all over her face and hands.  _

_ “Who are you? Dis is no house for strangers, non.”  _

_ Victor held the boy out to her. She gasped and shouted: _

_ “Jeannie!”  _

_ A few seconds later a young woman appeared. She took one look at the boy and Victors bloodied clothes, and quickly took the boy from him.  _

_ “He’s my son. But I’m a feral. I can’t take care of him. I deal with dangerous people out there. He would only get hurt. Please take him in.”  _

_ The woman looked at his tearful eyes.  _

_ “He’s a mutant?”  _

_ Victor nodded.  _

_ “You cajuns don’t seem to care about that. I stayed with some of you before.”  _

_ She tilted her head and ran her hand over the boy’s head.  _

_ “He can stay. We’ll take care of him. Did you name him?”  _

_ “Remy. Rose wanted him to be called Remy. You can come up with a last name for him. And one more thing. Don’t tell him about me. It will be better that way.”  _

_ He moved down and kissed the boy on his forehead.  _

_ “Goodbye runt.”  _

_ He then turned around and ran back into the forest.  _

Remy was sitting completely still. He was staring at the wall as if he wanted it to disappear. Wanda slowly took his hand. 

“Remy?” 

That seemed to snap him out of it. He quickly turned to Victor and took hold of his throat. 

“Tell me it isn’t true. Tell me it’s just something Amora is making up.” 

The feral sighed. 

“I can tell you that but it will be a lie.” 

Remy pressed down harder on his windpipe. 

“If it’s the truth, why didn’t you tell me when I found you again?” 

Victor shrugged. 

“I don’t know. Maybe because you were so like her. I was just afraid to lose you too.” 

Suddenly Remy let go of him and ran out of the room. Everyone heard him saying over and over:

“It’s all lies.” 

Tony sighed and stood up to follow him but found that he could not walk through the door. He turned back to the screen where a new text appeared. ‘ONE DOWN. IT WASN’T EVEN HARD. NOW LET’S MOVE ON. I THINK IT’S YOUR TURN TONY.’ 


	54. You're Not Him

Tony slowly went back to his place on the floor. He sat down and sighed.

“I understand that you want to show them the memories about me. For some reason you think that it’s the right thing to do. But what do you have against Remy?”

‘HE’S STANDING IN MY WAY. BUT LET’S NOT CONCENTRATE ON HIM. WHY DON’T I REMIND YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS OF A LITTLE SPEECH YOU ONCE GAVE.’ The screen flickered to life and Tony groaned. He knew which speech she was going to show. And it was bad.

_Tony was standing in front of a group of soldiers. He was dressed in a suit and had his brown sunglasses on. Without showing any emotion he started to talk._

_“Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?”_

The Avengers glanced towards Tony and then at each other. That voice. That emotionless voice. It was nothing they were used to from Tony.

_“With that in mind I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries freedom line.”_

_He put his hands in his pockets._

_“It’s the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology. THEY say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree.”_

Tony was keeping his eyes on the screen. He didn’t want to see the others reactions. Rhodey, who had been there, and Pepper who had been told about it by Rhodey, were keeping their eyes on the genius. Wanda and Pietro were looking at the screen with wide eyes. THIS was the Tony Stark they had hated for so long. The arrogant, selfish billionaire. Natasha, Sharon, Clint and Sam were taking in as much information as they could. It wasn’t every day they got to see something like that from Tony’s life. Emma, Creed and Logan seemed to be less interested than the others. Steve had his head tilted a bit to the side. He had heard about Tony’s time as a weapons dealer. Now he would get to see it. T’Challa and Bruce kept their expressions calm and neutral but were ready to jump in and calm the others down in case it would be needed. Bucky was staring at the screen. If someone observant had looked at him, they would see that the spy wasn’t even blinking. Fury was watching Tony with concern. He knew that the genius had put that life behind him. He couldn’t even imagine how painful watching this was. Vision was fighting the urge to destroy the wall so that they couldn’t watch anymore. Not that he thought it would help. But the part of him that was Jarvis, wanted to do something to help his creator.

_“I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once.”_

_He raised his voice on the next sentence._

_“That’s how dad did it!”_

Steve gasped. Howard wasn’t a weapons dealer. Sure, he worked with the military, but he never created weapons. Before he could say anything, Natasha shot him a look saying ‘I’ll explain later.’

_“That’s how America does it.”_

_Then he lowered his voice again._

_“And it’s worked out pretty well so far.”_

Some of the Avengers felt chills. And the on-screen Tony just continued.

_“Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you, the bad guys won’t even wanna come out of their caves.”_

_He waved his hand towards the weapon and all the soldiers heads turned that way. The missiles started to move and reposition themselves. Then one of them fired away. The soldiers followed it with their eyes while Tony just stood in his place, looking almost bored. In the air, the missile split up into many smaller missiles. They started to fall and finally did Tony speak up again._

_“For your consideration. The Jericho.”_

_The missiles hit the ground and Tony lifted his arms at the same time. He spread them out to the sides just as the shock wave came towards them. The explosions behind him were so strong that the blast made him lose his balance and he had to take a step forward, lowering his arms. The soldiers hats were blown off their heads. Tony calmly went over to a big box and opened it to reveal a cooler with alcohol. He took up a glass and said, while he was starting to walk away from the soldiers:_

_“I’ll be throwing one of these in with every purchase of 500 million or more.”_

_He then lifted his glass into the air._

_“To peace.”_

The clip ended. Tony was still looking straight ahead. Then Natasha went over to him and turned his head so that he was looking at her.

“Tony?”

He let his eyes slowly shift to blue.

“I’m not him anymore.”

She nodded.

“I know. We all know that. But you need to explain. So that we don’t have any more fights because someone doesn’t fully understand. Please.”

Tony glanced over to Steve. The soldier still had the confused look on his face. When he noticed that Tony was looking at him, he took a deep breath and asked:

“What did you mean with ‘That’s how dad did it’?”

Tony sighed.

“Howard was a weapons dealer. After you disappeared but before he joined Hydra. He started to build weapons to make sure that the nazis were destroyed. At the same time, he was leading expeditions to all different places, to find you. When I was born, mom told him that if he didn’t stay at home and spend time with her and me, she would take me and leave him. Howard couldn’t let her leave. It would be an embarrassment. So he had to stop going on those expeditions. That was the moment he started to hate me. His whole attention shifted to weapons. When Hydra offered him a possibility to create another super soldier, he accepted immediately. It didn’t matter that Hydra is a nazi organization. He wanted another super soldier. He was constantly drunk. Obie was the one holding the company together.”

Steve still had trouble understanding.

“But why? I mean, I met him a few times and that’s all. I saw him as competition. I always thought that he was running after Peggy.”

Suddenly Tony smirked.

“Fondue?”

That made Steve blush. He looked almost like a tomato.

“He told you?”

Tony snorted.

“Are you mad? Howard never told me stories. Unless he was really drunk. But after the time he broke a bottle and tried to cut my throat, mom made sure to keep me away from him when he was drunk. No. Not him. Aunt Peggy told me. She was a bit like him on that aspect. She always talked about you.”

Steve smiled. He was glad that Peggy always remembered him, just like he had always remembered her. But then he thought back to what Tony had said.

“Howard tried to kill you?”

Tony shrugged.

“It wasn’t intentionally. He never was a good drunk. My life motto has always been that if you can’t think reasonably while you are drunk, then you should not drink at all.”

Pepper rolled her eyes.

“You literally peed the suit when you were drunk. I don’t think you’re really following that motto.”

“Oh, but Pep. I am. I knew exactly what I was doing. It wasn’t my top performance but I knew what I was doing.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Of course you did.”

That was when Bucky decided to speak up.

“Why did you call him ‘dad’?”

Tony quickly understood why the soldier was asking.

“He’s my father. Whether I like it or not. It’s not something that can be changed. He could have killed me. But he didn’t. I owed him that much. Showing him some respect when others could hear was the least I could do.”

“Guys. Another one.”

At Clint’s words, everyone turned to the wall. ‘HOW COME YOU’RE SO EASILY ACCEPTING A MURDERER?’ To everyone’s surprise, Steve was the one who answered first.

“Tony is not a murderer. He wasn’t the one pulling the trigger. He never killed anyone.”

Suddenly Tony started to shake his head.

“Steve. Just don’t. You don’t know me.”

And, when the soldiers eyes widened, he continued.

“I’ve killed before. I’m not proud of it. I wasn’t much better than them back in that cave. It was when I was breaking out from my captivity in Afghanistan. Many of those terrorists died. Later I came back and blew even more up. As we always do.”

“You’re not Howard.”

Everyone’s heads snapped over to the door where Remy stood. His face was blank but the redness in his eyes told them he had cried. He slowly went over to Tony and crouched in front of him.

“You’re not your father.”

Victor winced when he understood the double meaning behind the sentence. Remy was distancing himself from him. But then he decided that he was not going to lose him.

“Remy…”

“No. Just keep quiet. You have nothing to say.”

Victor felt shocked. Remy usually had to look at the person he wanted to charm in order for it to work. Now he was keeping his eyes on Tony, but Victor found it impossible to speak. He couldn’t come up with anything to say.

“Do you understand me Tony? You’ll never be him.”

Tony nodded softly. Remy stood up but then was faced with a dilemma. They had all moved around a bit after he had left. Now Wanda was sitting between Creed and Logan. And the cajun didn’t want to sit next to either of them. Bucky must’ve understood because he shifted to the side a bit, leaving some more space between himself and Sam. Remy went over to them and sat down with a small nod. He looked over to the wall and smirked.

“Come on fairy. Give it your best shot. Let’s see what you can do.”

The green smoke appeared again. No one moved. They knew that it would not do them any good since she could easily control them. Remy and Emma were the only people who could go against her. But when the smoke cleared it wasn’t Amora. Clint shot up from his spot on the floor and only Bruce’s quick thinking stopped him from attacking the newcomer. Fury’s eye narrowed.

“What are YOU doing here?!” 


	55. Let's Do It

Tony slowly stood up to face the newcomer. His blue eyes met green and he saw surprise written all over the other's face. 

“So I wasn’t completely wrong when I thought I felt some kind of power coming from you.” 

Steve rose to his feet and put a hand on Clint’s shoulder. 

“Calm down Clint.” 

He then turned to the green eyed man. By that time, all the other Avengers had gotten up. Almost unconsciously, Remy moved closer to Wanda which also put him closer to Creed. Tony took a step forward. 

“Loki.” 

The man nodded. 

“Yes. And before you ask, I escaped and Thor does not know about it yet. I’m not here to cause any harm. The time in prison made me think. I…” 

“You were mind controlled.” 

Loki’s eyebrows shot up when Tony said that. But the genius didn’t seem to notice that. He just went on, completely shocked by what he found out. 

“Your eyes are green. But I remember clearly that when I talked to you, before you threw me out through the window, your eyes were blue.” 

Slowly Loki nodded again. 

“I wasn’t thinking very clearly back then. But that is behind us now. I’m here to help you. I understand that Amora is causing you trouble. I can take care of her for you.” 

Remy tilted his head. 

“And who exactly are you?” 

Loki turned to him. 

“I could ask you the same question. I’ve never seen you around.” 

For a long moment they kept staring at each other. In the end, Loki was the first one to give up their staring contest. He smirked. 

“You’re not bad. I’m Loki.” 

“Gambit.” 

The jotun nodded one more time. 

“Alright then, Gambit. Now that we know each other, I would love to get an answer. I have other things to do and can’t stay here. But I could take her with me if she is causing you trouble. What do you say?” 

Tony glanced around. Slowly, one by one, all of the Avengers nodded. Clint was the last one. He absolutely didn’t trust Loki, but he knew that he had to agree if they wanted to be able to fight later. They needed Remy and Emma to fight Sinister, since they were the only ones that could keep him from getting into their heads. But with Amora out there, they wouldn’t be able to do it. Loki smiled. 

“Great. Now, you’ll need to call her. I masked my presence from her so she doesn’t know that I’m here.” 

Tony turned to the screen. 

“Amora. Could you get here? It’s important. Really important.” 

It took around two minutes before a green smoke appeared and Amora stepped out of it. She looked over to Remy and something like fury appeared in her eyes but before she managed to do or say anything, Loki stepped closer to her. 

“Amora.” 

She spun around, her eyes wide. She opened her mouth but didn’t seem to be able to get any sound out. Loki went over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. 

“It’s time to go. You can’t mess with them all the time.” 

He then turned to Tony. 

“We’ll have to put a raincheck on that drink again, Stark. When all of this is over.” 

Tony smirked and nodded. Loki grabbed Amora tightly around her waist and they both disappeared in green smoke. The Avengers looked at each other. Clint relaxed and Bruce let go of him. Most of them were shocked. Steve looked over to Tony. 

“Do you think Thor will come by?” 

Tony shook his head. 

“No. Loki said it himself. Thor doesn’t know that he has escaped. It might take some time before they figure it out. And it might take even more time for them to send someone down here.”

Suddenly Victor put his hand up to silence them. Almost without thinking, Remy moved even closer to him. He seemed to catch himself and he quickly moved over to Wanda. Meanwhile, Creed was standing completely still. Then he turned to Logan and asked with a cold voice: 

“You’re hearing it too right?” 

Logan nodded. He went over to the window and looked out. 

“Nothing.” 

Victor growled. 

“Then what is that sound?” 

Remy sighed and decided to put his feelings to the side. He stepped closer to Victor again. 

“What are you hearing?” 

Creed growled again. 

“I don’t know! And that’s what is bothering me. It sounds almost like a helicopter but the sound is off in some way. Almost as if it’s coming towards us and stopping for a few seconds and then continuing again. I’ve never heard it before.” 

Tony rushed over to a glass table and it turned into a screen. 

“Friday. Get the real life map of the area around the Tower. Turn all the radars on and try to see who is coming towards us.” 

A map stretched out over the entire table. The Tower was in the middle. Tony swept his hands over it and holograms rose from the table to form the buildings. Some of the Avengers, mainly the ones who hadn’t seen the holograms before, gasped. Bucky smiled proudly. 

“Nice.” 

Tony nodded and moved his hands. A few airplanes appeared over the buildings. 

“What are those?” 

“Ordinary airlines. All of them are accounted for. No hijacking or engine problems.” 

The genius groaned and leaned heavily on the table. 

“The radars are on? 

“Yes, boss. Nothing is being picked up yet. I’m doing searches through the satellites right now.” 

Victor and Logan were growing more and more nervous. A few seconds later Bucky and Steve stilled. Natasha tilted her head. 

“You hear it too now?” 

Bucky nodded. 

“I might know what it is. A helicopter that has specially made engines. One of them has a silenced engine. The ordinary engine turns on and off in a few seconds times. The other engine is working while the other is off. That gives the impression that it’s stopping and then continuing again all the time. It has some of the best anti radar technologies in it.” 

Tony face palmed. 

“How could I forget about that one?! Howard was always so damn proud of it. But how did you…?”

“Howard sold it to Hydra.” 

Tony’s face expression hardened. 

“Of course he did. Fri. Put the newest radar system on. The unfinished one. It should be working good enough to pick them up.” 

“On it.” 

A few seconds later a helicopter appeared over the buildings. Victor and Logan were still next to the window. Remy took a deep breath. 

“I could blow it out of the sky.” 

Natasha shook her head. 

“Not over the city. We won’t be able to get the civilians out of the way in time. We have to let them land.” 

“And hope that they land on the Tower and not down there.” 

Clint pointed towards the street where people were walking around. Steve turned to Tony and Wanda. 

“If they come close enough, would you two be able to pull them down onto the roof?” 

Blue eyes met red. Both mutants smirked.

“Yeah. We can.” 

Steve nodded taking over the leading role with ease this time. 

“Remy, Emma. Get up there with them. We need you to get to Sinister as fast as you can. With Amora out of the way, Sinister is the only one who can take us all down. Victor. You’ve been around Vertigo for some time right?” 

The feral nodded, understanding immediately. 

“Yeah. I’m pretty immune to her. I can take care of her although I don’t think she will be so eager to fight. She is getting pretty tired of how Sinister is pushing them around.” 

Steve turned back to Tony. 

“Once you get them down, you’ll need to go against Morgan. She’s a fairy and I’m afraid that you are the only person who can match her when it comes to powers.” 

Tony nodded. 

“Got it.” 

Then something smashed into the window. The glass held and Steve’s eyes widened a bit when he noticed what it was.

“Doombots.” 

Tony snorted. 

“Doombots? Honestly, how narcissistic is he?” 

Rhodey raised his eyebrows. 

“He? You named your suits ‘Iron Legion’.” 

A smirk appeared on the billionaires face. 

“What can I say? I like that name. And now that you said that, it’s a brilliant idea, Rhodey. I knew that my genius would get over to you.” 

Rhodes looked confused. 

“What’s a good idea? I didn’t say anything.” 

“You did. Activate the Iron Legion, Friday. Let’s see how Doom will like that.”

Steve turned to the other’s. 

“The rest of you, pick one of the Marauders or Dark Avengers. If Ross is with them…” 

“Ross is mine.”

Everyone turned to Bucky. His eyes were cold and he was looking very much like the assassin they had seen when he was being controlled by Hydra. Before anyone answered, Victor said with a growl in his voice. 

“They will be over us soon.” 

Looking to the hologram they all noticed that the helicopter had gotten close. Steve nodded. 

“Let’s deal with them. Once and for all.” 

As they were all heading to the elevator, Tony grabbed Natasha’s hand and squeezed it gently. She squeezed back and gave him a small smile. Remy put his arm around Wanda’s shoulders and hugged her quickly before letting go of her and moving towards the elevator. Victor took a deep breath. 

“Runt.” 

After slight hesitation, Remy turned around to face him. 

“Be careful.” 

Victor’s voice was just like it has always been. Before Remy found out. The cajun sighed. 

“You too.”


	56. Just Heal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!! WARNING!!! WARNING!!!  
> This chapter contains TEMPORARY character death. TEMPORARY. I promise. Everyone will be alright.

The helicopter came into view just as they got up onto the roof. Wanda and Tony lifted their hands. Blue and red powers stretched out and attached themselves to the helicopter. Both mutants pulled at the same time and it started to fall towards them. A second before it landed, the door opened and Juggernaut jumped out. He charged them but before he got anywhere, Vision flew forward and fired from his stone. It slowed him down enough for Logan to attack. The adamantium claws sunk into flesh without any resistance. The enormous man roared with pain. And the plane landed. Moonlight was first out but had to step back inside when Natasha and Fury fired their guns at her. Instead Sinister stepped out. Once again, the bullets just bounced off of him. Remy looked over to Emma, who had changed into her crystal form. They both nodded and moved forward. Sinister smirked seeing Remy. 

“Gambit. It’s so nice to see you again. And alive.” 

Just then, Arclight appeared. Her blast knocked everyone onto the ground. Everyone except for Logan and Juggernaut who were still fighting. Wanda fired her power from the ground and managed to throw the other woman off balance long enough for Steve to attack her. They started a very heated hand to hand fight that looked worryingly even. Vertigo attacked next but didn’t manage to reach anyone before Victor was on her. Morgan and Tony exchanged fire while Yelena and Natasha engaged in a fight that looked very much like an acrobatic dance. Riptide tried to start spinning but T’Challa jumped onto him the same second. The bone fragments that had been sent his way, bounced off. Once again, a scream was heard when claws met skin. Sunfire sent a blast towards Sharon and Clint, but Hulk jumped in front of them. He charged the sun mutant with furious speed. Emma glanced towards them. Remy noticed that and nodded. 

“Go. I can take on him myself.” 

She nodded and joined Hulk and Sunfire. A big fire blast covered her, but when it disappeared, she was still standing. Not a scratch was present on her diamond body. Ross slowly stepped out of the helicopter and Bucky saw red. He ran forward and attacked. Ross quickly avoided his punches and the others were quite surprised by how flexible the man was. Rhodey and Sam led the Iron Legion against the Doombots and the fight in the air was just as furious as the one on the ground. Sharon, Fury, Clint and Wanda were taking on the Doombots that managed to land. Pietro was speeding around, throwing in punches when he got an open shot. Remy, getting a sudden idea, ducked under one of the bots and said quickly:

“Quicksilver.” 

The speedster stopped next to him. 

“Yeah?” 

“Can you drop me off next to Sinister? I won’t be able to get close to him otherwise.” 

Pietro nodded and put an arm around his waist. 

“Hold on.” 

He ran over to Sinister and put the cajun behind the man. Remy swayed but his balance kept him on his feet. He swung his charged staff immediately and managed to get in a good hit. The small explosion forced the scientist to take a step forward. Meantime Remy pulled a deck of cards out. He smirked. 

“So you and me. The final fight.” 

And he threw the cards before Sinister managed to regain his balance. He knew that he had to keep attacking and not allow the scientist to get in a blow. And he could absolutely not let Sinister concentrate enough to get into his mind. On the other side of the roof, Tony was also struggling. Morgan was a fairy. And however much force he put behind his blasts he couldn’t get her down. As Victor had predicted, Vertigo didn’t put up a big fight. She let herself be flung to the side and stayed on the ground after that. Victor then charged towards Juggernaut but the enormous man was lucky and managed to kick the feral away. A few seconds later Sinister’s voice was heard over the fight.

“STOP!”    
Everyone stilled when they noticed what was happening. Remy was on the ground, next to the helicopter that he had crashed into. Sinister was standing a bit away from him. He was holding Victor by the hair and holding a long knife against his throat. Remy was looking at them with wide eyes. 

“Get up.” 

Slowly the cajun obeyed. The others just stood in a half circle around them. Even the Marauders and Dark Avengers stopped. 

“Get over here.” 

Remy took a few steps towards the scientist and his prisoner. Once again he stood before the man who had destroyed his life, and felt helpless. 

“Down.” 

He sunk down to his knees without any sound. Sinister smirked. 

“You didn’t actually think you could beat me right?” 

Remy didn’t answer. There was no answer. Victor growled which earned him the blade pressing harder into his neck. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” 

The feral quieted. 

“Now, you’ll do whatever I want you to do. And if you don’t, I’ll cut his head off. See if that works.” 

Remy froze. He knew that it would work. A feral’s healing worked as long as his brain could send out the signals to heal. Cutting the head off would be more than enough. Then Sinister got some kind of evil glint in his eyes and he said with a smirk.

“You know what. I changed my mind.” 

He made a quick slashing motion and Victor’s body fell limp in his arms. He let go of him and the body fell onto the ground next to Remy. And the cajun lost it. He looked up, his eyes shining purple. And suddenly all of Sinister’s clothes started to glow. The scientist took a step back, fear appearing on his face for the first time. 

“Gambit.” 

Before he could say another thing, his clothes exploded, leaving him naked and burned all over his body. He blacked out. When they looked back to Remy, he was kneeling next to Victor. His head was lowered and he shook all over. He was crying and mumbling something. After a few seconds they heard what he was saying. 

“You’ll heal. You always do. It will be fine. I promise. We’ll get through it. Just heal.” 

Wanda started to walk towards him but Tony stopped her. 

“Don’t. He can’t control himself now. He could blow you up without realizing who you are.” 

Emma slowly moved closer to Tony. 

“Is there nothing we can do?” 

The genius shook his head. 

“None of us can bring people back to life. Maybe… He did say that he wanted to help. Um… Loki? I don’t know if you can hear this…” 

“You should be happy that I was listening in on your thoughts. What is…”

Loki’s eyes widened when he noticed Remy. He slowly started to walk towards them, ignoring Tony’s warnings. 

“Gambit.” 

Remy’s head turned to him. His eyes were still purple and he was crying. Loki raised his hands in the air. 

“Take it easy. I can help. He’s important to you right?” 

Remy nodded. 

“He… He’s my father.” 

Vertigo and Arclight gasped but Loki didn’t change his expression. 

“Alright. Listen. It’s going to be alright. I can help.” 

His voice was soothing, almost as if he was talking to a frightened animal. Tony thought that it was almost comical since Remy was a ferals child. To everyone’s amazement, Loki managed to walk all the way over to them and slowly kneeled on Victor’s other side. He kept talking to Remy about how everything would be fine while he reached one hand out towards the ferals head. Before he managed to touch him, Remy grabbed his wrist and Loki’s clothes started to glow. 

“Don’t you dare! Get away from him!” 

Loki stopped his movements and looked the cajun straight in the eyes. He didn’t use any mind tricks. He knew that it would only anger the boy even more. Instead he spoke up again. 

“I won’t hurt him. His spinal cord is severed. I can fix it so that he can heal himself. But you need to let go of me first.” 

Remy hesitated and Loki used that as an opportunity. 

“Look. Why don’t we do it this way. You let go of me now. I heal him. But you keep my clothes charged while I do it. If I hurt him, you blow me up. That’s fair, right?” 

Slowly, Remy nodded and let go of the man’s wrist. Loki put one of his hands on Victor’s head and the other over his heart. A soft green glow appeared under his hands. Loki closed his eyes in concentration. The glow intensified but so did the purple glow on his clothes. And that was when Victor started to cough and choke on his own blood. Loki moved the hand that was over Victor’s head and the feral closed his eyes again. Remy looked nervous. 

“What…?” 

“He’s asleep. His healing factor will take care of the rest now.” 

Remy kept staring at him. The purple glow intensified even more but Loki didn’t seem to worry about that. He stood up and started to walk away. After a few steps he stopped and turned around. 

“He’ll be fine.”

Remy looked over to him. 

“What do you want?” 

Loki shook his head. 

“Nothing. There is no debt. It’s alright. I’ll see you later, Gambit.” 

“Remy.” 

Loki raised his eyebrows. Seeing that, Remy pulled the charge back. 

“My name is Remy. My enemies call me Gambit.” 

The jotun smiled and repeated: 

“He’ll be fine.” 

Then he nodded towards the cajun and disappeared. Wanda managed to free herself from Tony’s grip and ran over to Remy. She fell to her knees next to him and quickly hugged him. He sat still for a second but then it seemed that the energy left him. He leaned against her and started to breathe heavily. He was crying again. Next to them Victor was healing slowly. 


	57. So It's Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This in NOT the last chapter, even if it may look like it.

The Marauders were hesitating. Seeing Sinister fall had been a big shock to them. None of them ever thought that the scientist would ever be beaten. The Dark Avengers on the other side were slowly moving towards the edge of the roof. Almost as if they were planning to jump off. Before they managed to do anything more, Tony noticed them and pointed a hand there. And suddenly the whole Iron Legion appeared around them. Juggernaut tried to crash through them but was stopped by the sudden appearance of Hulkbuster. Hulk roared and threw himself onto the big man and started to repeatedly hit his head with two fists. It took him seven hits before Juggernaut’s eyes closed and the man blacked out. Hulk stood up and nodded towards the armor before he turned around to the other Dark Avengers. Moonstone, Morgan and Doom lifted their hands up. One of the armors came forward and put special shackles on them to make sure that they couldn’t use their powers. Another armor shackled Sinister. Meanwhile Yelena had managed to hide behind the helicopter while everyone was looking at Remy and Victor. She pulled her gun out and pointed it at Natasha’s head. A shot was heard. But the bullet never hit its target. Pietro appeared in front of Nat holding the bullet in his hand. 

“You didn’t see that coming.” 

Clint snorted while Tony used his power to pull Yelena towards the armors. She was handcuffed and a female looking armor, the one that Tony had built for Friday, smacked the back of her head. Tony smirked. 

“Friday doesn’t like you. So don’t try anything.” 

Yelena looked furious but kept quiet. Tony glanced over to Remy and Wanda. 

“Hulkey?” 

Hulk turned to him with a questioning sound. Tony sighed. 

“We’ll have to teach you how to speak.” 

Steve groaned. 

“Please, don’t. Remember what happened when you tried to teach him how to play ball?” 

Tony grinned and pointed to Victor. 

“Can you carry him inside? Put him on the couch. Nat, would you mind putting something on the couch before Hulkey drops him off? Or wait. Don’t bother with that. I’m going to have to change all the furniture either way. And put up a wall. And change the carpeting.” 

He continued mumbling what he needed to fix while he moved towards the two kneeling mutants. 

“Remy?” 

The cajun looked up. His eyes were brown and he looked exhausted. Tony understood. It wasn’t easy for the cajun to charge things without touching them. Remy blinked slowly and asked in a small voice:

“Did I…  _ KILL  _ him?” 

Tony sighed. He knew that this would come. But before he answered, Wanda started to talk: 

“You didn’t kill him Remy. But if you had done it, I wouldn’t stop loving you. Because you couldn’t control it and it wouldn’t be your fault.”

Remy sighed and nodded, accepting her words. And Tony smiled. He had been right from the beginning. These two were perfect for each other. Then he heard movement behind him and turned to see the four Marauders coming towards them. Remy looked to them and nodded. 

“I know.” 

“We don’t want any more fights.” 

Remy just repeated:

“I know.” 

Sunfire stepped closer to them and said quietly:

“I’ll go back to Japan. I haven’t been there in years. If you need help, just call. I know that you’ll be able to find me.” 

Arclight was next. 

“I’ll contact the army again. See if they want me back. I’ll write.” 

Riptide shrugged. 

“I’ll go back south. Not sure where to. Just down there. I’ll report to the Avengers if I decide to settle down somewhere.” 

“I’ll go back home.” 

Remy smiled towards Vertigo.

“I’ll come by and visit sometimes. Don’t think you’ll get rid of me so easily, cajun. We’ll see each other again.” 

The four of them went inside the helicopter. Arclight and Riptide took the pilot seats while Vertigo stayed in the open door. A second after they lifted, Fury rushed over to Remy. 

“Are you crazy?! You’re just going to let them go?!” 

The cajun nodded. 

“I trust them. They won’t do anything else. There is a reason why they are still alive. A killing machine wouldn’t survive long with Sinister. You had to have some kind of good in you.” 

Hulk gently lifted Victor up and started to head towards the elevator. He had to duck a bit but otherwise fit inside. Wanda and Remy went in with them and the elevator left. Fury pulled his phone out and punched in a number. A few seconds later he started talking. 

“Maria? Get over here with a quinjet. We have a few prisoners that need to be taken to the Raft. Yes. Yes. Alright. I’m waiting on the roof of Avengers Tower.” 

He put the phone away and nodded to the others. 

“You can get inside. Maria will be here in a few minutes.” 

They nodded back and went to the elevators. Logan was steadying Sharon, whose ankle was twisted from where a Doombot had picked her up and dropped her on the ground. Clint had a big gash across his left arm, where he had been hit by something. He still didn’t know what that was but assumed it was a doombot’s head that had been ripped off. Tony had a few small burn marks from where he hadn’t been able to shield himself from Morgan’s attacks. Natasha had a few small cuts and red marks from where Yelena had managed to strike her. Pietro and Emma were the only ones without any wounds. She had been in her crystal form and hadn’t been harmed while he was simply too quick to get hit by anyone. Logan’s wounds had already healed. Bucky was completely unharmed because of Ross not being able to get in one single hit. Steve had a few bruises from where Arclight had knocked him around. T’Challa and Rhodey, mostly protected by their suits, had some minor bruisings. Vision was completely unharmed. One of Sam’s wings was hanging from his back and he had scrape marks on his face and hands, but was otherwise unharmed. All in all, they were lucky. All but Victor. They got into the elevator and Friday took them down to Tony’s living room. Victor was on the couch. Bruce was curled up under a blanket, half asleep. He always got tired after Hulking out, and liked to rest unless his medical skills were needed. And now, with Emma there, he knew that he could take it easy. Remy and Wanda were sitting with their backs leaned against the couch. Slowly all the Avengers sat down wherever they could find a place. Pepper rushed inside a few seconds later. 

“Is everyone alright?!” 

She hurried over to Bruce and sat down next to him. He smiled and let his head fall to the side, onto her shoulder. Her expression softened. Then she looked over to Victor. 

“What happened to him?” 

“Sinister.” 

Pepper’s eyes widened.

“But you have him?” 

Remy nodded. 

“He won’t cause more trouble.” 

Tony looked around. 

“So it’s over now.” 

Bucky smiled. 

“I say, finally. It’s been going on too long.” 

Steve nodded. The genius smiled softly and leaned back a little. 

“So. Now that it’s over, what are you going to do?” 

T’Challa was the first one to answer. 

“I’m going back to Wakanda. I still have things to put in order after that imposter was there. Doctor Banner, have you thought about my proposition?” 

Everyone’s heads turned to the sleepy Bruce. 

“Oh. Well, I have but I have to ask first.” 

Then he turned to Pepper. 

“Pepper. T’Challa asked me if I would like to come with him to Wakanda and work as a doctor. And I think about agreeing but I would like you to come with me. And live with me there.” 

Pepper’s eyes widened. 

“I… I would love to, but…” 

She glanced over to Tony. The genius quickly understood. 

“You can work from Wakanda. The special jet will be ready whenever you need to get to some meetings. And I’ll just build things for you to give to them so that they keep off your back and you can have some free time.” 

Pepper smiled widely. 

“Thank you Tony. Just… Thank you.” 

He nodded and Bruce looked back to T’Challa. 

“I guess that is our answer. We’ll be going with you.” 

Then Tony turned to the others. 

“And the rest of you?” 

This time Bucky spoke up while he kept his eyes on Steve. 

“I think me and Steve will go back to Brooklyn for some time. Visit some places, remember old times. It will be good for us.” 

Steve smiled. 

“Yeah. It would be nice.” 

The others silently agreed. The two soldiers were obviously best friends and it was odd to see them arguing. Suddenly Bucky smirked and Steve groaned. Clint lifted his eyebrows. 

“What?” 

The soldier rolled his eyes. 

“That smirk. He always gets that smirk when he sets me up with some girl that actually hopes for a date with him.” 

Bucky grinned. 

“Not my fault I look better than you.” 

Clint chuckled. 

“Well, right now, you have some competition. He is a super soldier. As for me, I’ll go back home. Laura and the kids miss me.” 

Just then Remy jumped. They understood why when they noticed that Victor’s hand had moved so that it was stroking the cajun’s hair. He spun around. 

“You…” 

“I’m alive. Yes. You’re not getting rid of me so easily.” 

Remy shook his head. 

“Don’t ever do it again.” 

Victor raised his eyebrows and slowly sat up. 

“Do what? And where is Sinister?” 

Tony was the one who answered. 

“Remy lost it when Sinister slashed your throat. He charged his clothes from where he was. Sinister is completely burned and on his way to prison now. He’s not getting out.” 

Victor looked shocked. 

“You did what? Why?” 

Remy looked a bit irritated. 

“I just saw my father being killed right in front of me. I was allowed to lose some control.” 

The feral didn’t comment on Remy agreeing to them being family and just smiled. 

“Yeah. You were. So what are you going to do now?” 

The cajun got a determined look in his eyes. 

“I’m going back to New Orleans. I’m going to beg Jean-Luc and the Guilds for forgiveness. And hope that they accept me back. I was actually hoping…” 

He glanced to Wanda. She understood and nodded. 

“I would love to come with you.” 

He smiled brightly. 

“Really?” 

She nodded again. Logan stretched so that his bones popped and said with a calm voice: 

“As for me, I’m going back to Xavier’s. I’m kinda missing arguing with Cyke. If you need me, just call. Oh, and Sharon? If you want to, you can come with me. I talked with Chuck before. He would love to meet you. And no one on the team knows how to shoot a gun. We could use your help to train in case we ever have to fight without our powers.” 

Sharon looked shocked, but nodded.

“If you’re sure.” 

He smirked. 

“I’m sure.” 

Tony turned to Pietro and Emma. By now, everyone had understood that the two of them were together and that they would most probably leave together. Emma smiled softly. 

“Me and Pietro will go back to my mansion. Stryker was in it long enough. I need to get things back as they were.” 

When they looked over to Rhodey, he just shrugged. 

“Don’t look at me. I’m staying here. Not going to leave Tones without supervision. And Nat will most probably need help with him.” 

Tony made an offended face but didn’t say anything. He was actually happy, that everyone was getting along. Steve turned to Sam. 

“And you?” 

“If it’s alright with Tony, I’ll stay in the tower for some more time. I need some peace right now.” 

Tony smiled. 

“Of course. I’ll put building you a floor into the plans. You’ll love it.” 

Sam was going to protest when he noticed Steve shaking his head. The soldier leaned a bit closer to him and whispered:

“Let him.” 

“I’m staying here too.” 

Vision’s voice made Sharon jump, since she hadn’t noticed that he was standing behind her. She quickly collected herself, but Tony had noticed. He smirked at her and she stuck her tongue out. Meanwhile, Remy turned to Victor. 

“And you?” 

“I’ll stay here too. If that’s alright with Stark.” 

Tony nodded. 

“Sure. Two floors then. Two floors, a wall, new furniture, new carpeting, have the elevators cleaned, new codes, fix the shop, more food, clean up the roof.” 

His voice lowered while he kept coming up with new things that he would have to fix. Natasha smiled with love in her eyes. This was the man she had fallen for. And she didn’t regret it. She never would. 


	58. Surprise

The day after the battle, Tony woke up very early. He was alone in bed and there was a strong smell of toasts in the room. Through the open door, he could hear Natasha moving around in the kitchen. He smiled. This was what he had dreamt about. A normal life with the woman he loved. Then he remembered something that he had been working on before the whole civil war. He sat up and looked into one of the cameras. 

“Fri? Is floor 38 completely good? Nothing got destroyed?” 

“Everything is in order boss. I’ll open up the windows before you go down there and let some fresh air in.” 

Tony smiled. 

“Thanks girl.” 

He got out of the bed and went into the bathroom. He glanced over to the bathtub and frowned when he saw a paper laying on it. He picked it up and noticed that it was Natasha’s handwriting on it. ‘ _ When you have time, get rid of it. I know you don’t want it here and I like showering more.’  _ Tony smiled. That was why he loved Natasha. Because she knew everything about him. Because she understood. He had kept the bathtub for the times when Pepper stayed on his floor. She loved bathtubs. And she didn’t know about what had happened in Afghanistan. But Natasha understood. She had guessed and been right.

“Friday. Pull out my plans on the bathroom. The ones I made after I came back from Afghanistan. And let Dummy and U trash this place. I’ll start the renovation here.” 

He quickly washed his face and changed into jeans and one of his old t-shirts. He brushed his teeth, pulled his fingers through his hair and decided that he looked good enough to get out. In the doorway, he saw Dummy and U standing. Dummy was holding a fire extinguisher while U wielded a sledgehammer. He smiled. 

“Go on. Destroy that thing first. I don’t want to see it anymore.” 

The two bot’s whirred in happiness and wheeled inside. Tony turned away from them and went to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and smiled. Natasha was wearing tight jeans and one of his t-shirts. It was too big for her but she somehow managed to make it look good. Her long hair was in a braid and she was singing quietly in russian while she moved around, preparing breakfast. 

“Hello, beautiful.” 

She spun around and smiled widely. 

“Well, hello there, handsome. You hungry?” 

Tony nodded. 

“Yeah. I don’t think I realized how hungry I was yesterday after the fight.” 

He went over to her and enveloped her in a hug. 

“Thank you, Tash. I really hate that thing.” 

She nodded. 

“I know. I don’t like it either.”

Then she pushed him away gently. 

“Sit down. Breakfast is ready.” 

They sat down and started to eat the toasts and scrambled eggs when Tony decided to bring the surprise up. 

“When we are done, I would like to show you something. I’ve been working on it for some time. It’s a small gift. For you.” 

Natasha smiled. 

“I’m sure I’ll love it. But eat first. You were in a coma, starved, tortured, beaten and in a few fights. I still don’t get why you even left the bed today.” 

Tony raised his eyebrows. 

“What was I supposed to do? Let you serve me in bed?” 

And seeing her smile he almost choked. 

“Wait a second. You were really going to serve me food in bed and let me just lay down the whole day?” 

Natasha rolled her eyes. 

“I really hoped for the whole week but then I remembered that Tony Stark can’t stay in one place too long so I decided I would settle on a whole day. But it seems even that is too long for you.” 

Tony made a whining sound. 

“A whole week? Are you trying to kill me? I have so much to do. The Tower needs rebuilding. I can’t just let Sam and Victor and Bucky stay in the guest rooms all the time. And I have to build things. I would go crazy.” 

Natasha giggled. 

“I know. That’s why I won’t force you to stay in bed. Just take it easy. Alright?” 

He nodded. 

“Yeah. I can try.” 

They ate in silence for a few minutes, before Tony spoke up again. 

“Did Remy call? Or the others?” 

Natasha swallowed and answered slowly:

“Pietro called to say that he and Emma have settled in. They won’t come by for some time because of how much they have to fix after Stryker. Bucky and Steve haven’t left yet. They decided to spend last night here. Clint is home. Laura congratulated us on finding each other although she said that she thought that me and Bruce were together for some odd reason. Pepper called to say that they landed and that the private jet that you sent is already there. Remy didn’t call yet but I suppose that he and Wanda haven’t arrived since they are driving. Sharon texted to say that they are still driving. And that Logan seems a bit off.” 

Tony sighed. 

“It’s about Remy.” 

Natasha tilted her head. 

“The fact that he almost killed him?” 

The genius shook his head. 

“No only. About the whole thing. Biting him. Stabbing. Remy dealt with Victor’s possessiveness before. And in the past it actually helped him to survive. None of the Marauders dared to hurt him. Until the tunnels. When he first met Logan, he didn’t want to trust him. That was when Logan promised him that he would never turn into an animal like Victor. Remy decided to trust him and they became friends. But now, Logan did what he promised he never would. And Remy is scared of him.” 

The things didn’t really add up for the spy. 

“But he was never afraid of Victor. He almost got killed by him, but when Victor came to him, Remy wasn’t scared.” 

Tony nodded. 

“That’s because Victor is a feral constantly. He doesn’t hold it back. So Remy knows what to expect and how to deal with him. Logan is doing his best to repress the animal. That makes him dangerous because he is unpredictable.” 

Natasha nodded and stood up. 

“Alright. I’m done.” 

Tony smiled. 

“Me too. Let’s go. I really want to show you this.” 

He sounded like a child who had been told that Christmas was arriving early this year, and Natasha couldn’t help but smile while he dragged her towards the elevator. Friday took them down but before the doors opened, Tony put his hands over Natasha’s eyes. She frowned but let him lead her out. They went down the corridor like this and then she heard his voice in her ear. 

“I hope you’ll liked it.” 

He pulled his hands away. And Natasha’s eyes widened. The room before her had clean white walls and black floor. Along one of the walls were mirrors while the other wall had big windows with soft grey curtains. The windows were open, letting fresh air inside. On the third wall were railings. There was also a door with the words ‘CHANGING ROOM’ on it. It was a…

“Ballet studio. You… I… It’s…” 

This was the first time Tony had seen Natasha speechless. He started to get nervous but it all went away when Natasha turned around and threw herself over him. 

“Thank you. Spasiba. It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect. I… I don’t really know how to thank you.” 

Tony smiled. 

“You just did.” 

She let go of him and suddenly something serious appeared in her eyes. 

“Tony. You do know that this is not what I love you for, right? I don’t love you because you have money and could give me whatever I ever wanted. I need you to understand that. I love you because of who you are. Even if you were the poorest man on earth, I would still love you.”

Tony nodded slowly. 

“I know Tasha. I know.” 

He had been through that before. Women who wanted to get close to him only because he was rich. Only because he could give them everything they wanted to have. But he knew that Natasha wasn’t like that. She was different then all the other women he had been with. He leaned down and kissed her. She smiled against his lips and suddenly turned around and ran to the middle of the room. She spread her arms and got up on her toes. When she started to dance, Tony almost lost his breath. She looked fifteen years younger than she was. She had managed to get the braid loose and her long red hair was flying all around her face. She was laughing and her eyes held so much happiness that he couldn’t help but smile. The way she moved with grace would easily make any professional ballerina jealous. Suddenly she stopped and made a motion with her hand. 

“This is for you Tony. I’ve worked on it for some time. And I think that this song fits us pretty well. I just never imagined that I would have a whole studio to perform this in. This is a remake by the way. It’s done by J2. I’m not sure who the original singer is.” 

The melody started and Tony was almost hypnotized by the way Natasha moved. 

_ You have my heart _

_ And we’ll never be worlds apart _

_ Maybe in magazines  _

_ But you’ll still be my star.  _

Natasha was flowing across the floor and Tony was amazed. Her movements were slow and gentle but there was some of the Black Widow strength under them. 

_ Baby, ‘cause in the dark  _

_ You can’t see shiny cars  _

_ And that’s when you need me there  _

_ With you I’ll always share  _

_ Because  _

_ When the sun shines, we’ll shine together  _

_ Told you I’ll be here forever  _

_ Said I’ll always be your friend _

_ Took an oath I’ma stick it out til the end.  _

Tony smiled. Natasha had stayed. To the end. Whatever happened. She never left him. 

_ Now that it’s raining more than ever _

_ Know that we still have each other  _

_ You can stand under my umbrella  _

_ You can stand under my umbrella  _

She sat down on the floor for a second, only to jump up again when the second verse started. Her dance moved a bit closer to him. 

_ These fancy things _

_ Will never come in between  _

_ You’re part of my entity _

_ Here for infinity  _

_ When the war has took it’s part  _

Tony’s eyes widened. It had. It was over now. It was finally over. 

_ When the world has dealt it’s cards _

_ If the hand is hard _

_ Together we’ll mend your heart _

_ Because _

She moved to the middle of the room again. 

_ When the sun shines, we’ll shine together _

_ Told you I’ll be here forever _

_ Said I’ll always be your friend  _

_ Took an oath I’ma stick it out til the end _

_ Now that it’s raining more than ever _

_ Know that we still have each other  _

_ You can stand under my umbrella  _

_ You can stand under my umbrella.  _

She finished with a twirl and he started to clap. 

“Beautiful. That was beautiful. You are beautiful. I…” 

The words stuck in his throat. Natasha must’ve understood, because she went over to him and took his hands in hers. 

“Listen Tony. I know that we’ve had our differences in the past. But I want you to know that ever since that time when I was Natalie Rushman, I’ve always felt something for you. In the beginning I didn’t think about it too much. But when I saw you at your lowest, still refusing to give up, I realized that I’m in love with you. But then all the fighting happened and with the way you were around Pepper, I got fooled. I really believed that the two of you were together. Then I figured out the truth but there was never enough time to talk. Everything happened in such short period of time. Loki, chitauri, Winter Soldier, Ultron, Accords and now this. I just didn’t want to tell you while we were in so many battles. And I guess I was a bit afraid of rejection. But now, everything is different. And I swear that as long as you want me, I’ll be by your side.” 

Tony dragged her forward and hugged her. 

“I’ll never want you to leave Tasha.” 

Then he let go of her and looked at her with seriousness in his eyes. 

“But I’m not a very easy person to leave with. I work all nights because I have nightmares if I don’t exhaust myself. I forget to eat and drink. I do reckless shit all the time.” 

Natasha smiled. 

“Good. Because that’s exactly the man I fell in love with.” 

He hugged her tightly again and she smiled. 

“You’ll smother me. Oh, and by the way, I was thinking about Peter. Maybe you should ask him to come over here and live with us. You know, formal adoption.” 

And Tony had to sit down. 

“How do you…?” 

“What? Know that you have been thinking about it? I know you Tony. You’re already treating the boy like your child. Maybe we could give him the family he wants.” 

Before he could answer, Friday’s voice was heard. 

“Boss. I’m terribly sorry to interrupt, but Captain Rogers asked me to tell you that he would like to speak to you in the kitchen of the common area. What should I say?” 

Tony glanced over to Natasha. She shrugged. 

“It’s up to you Tony. But I think that he really realizes things now. Maybe you should give it a chance.” 

He nodded slowly. 

“Alright. Tell him I’m on my way, Fri. When you are done here, do you think that you could maybe talk to Peter?” 

Natasha smiled. 

“I’ll do that and then me and Friday will fix the right papers. Go talk with Steve. You both need it.” 


	59. The Collar

Wanda was a bit worried. Ever since they left, Remy had been quiet. Too quiet. Unless he was telling her that they were taking a break, he didn’t say anything. They had landed in Baton Rouge and Remy had managed to make five stops on the way to New Orleans. But as soon as they got into the city, he seemed to suddenly relax. He parked the bike near a hotel and got off of it. Wanda stepped off too and looked around. 

“Wow.” 

Remy smirked. 

“Welcome to New Orleans, cherie.”

Then he took a deep breath and his expression softened. 

“It’s good to be home again.” 

Before she managed to answer, he suddenly spun around and punched a man in the face. Wanda made a surprised sound while the man stumbled backwards. Three other men went out of the alleys close to the two mutants. Wanda stepped closer to Remy. 

“What’s going on?” 

The cajun kept his eyes on the men. 

“I’ll know when an assassin tries to sneak up on me even in my sleep.” 

The man furthest to the right snorted. 

“Of course you will. Seems that years in exile didn’t really change you.” 

Remy frowned. 

“They have. Trust me. Now lead me to whoever sent you.” 

Wanda noticed suddenly how Remy stood a little bit straighter and there was a strange edge to his voice. And she remembered that Jean-Luc was almost royalty amongst the guilds. Which make Remy, more or less, a prince. But then he smirked and the old Gambit was back. He put his arm around her shoulders and they started to walk behind the man that had been punched. His nose was a bit bloody but he seemed alright. The three other men walked behind them. But to her surprise, Remy didn’t seem nervous. He must’ve noticed her uneasiness, because he dragged her a bit closer. 

“Don’t worry, cherie. In the worst case, they have nothing against you. And not even assassins will hurt someone that haven’t gone against them.” 

One of the men behind them delivered a hard smack to the back of Remy’s head. The cajun spun around with a charged card but the one with the bloody nose stepped in between them. 

“Calm down. Jacques, I told you to take it easy around him. You should calm down too, LeBeau. Charging things around you, won’t really help your case.” 

Neither Remy or the other man seemed to back down so Wanda decided to help the bloody nose. She put her hand on the card and Remy’s head snapped over to her. He looked down to the card and pulled the charge back. 

“D’accord. I’ll behave. It’s not like I have any other choices. I’m at their mercy.” 

He looked over to the man and nodded. 

“Lead the way, Louis.” 

The man sighed in relief. It was clear that he had been worried about a confrontation that would eventually end in a fight. And remembering what Remy had told Wanda about the fight with Julien, she understood that they were actually scared of him. However tough they acted. But then she realised something else. Something that Remy had said. ‘I’m at their mercy.’ As they started to walk again, she asked quietly:

“What did you mean with: ‘I’m at their mercy’? 

Remy sighed. 

“You got that, huh? There is a law that both guilds follow. If someone gets banished, they are completely banished. No way back. And if someone that was banished, as much as takes a step into New Orleans, the law says that they are to be either killed or imprisoned for the rest of their life. It all depends on what you did to get banished. But it’s mostly the thieves that take prisoners. The assassins just kill. I was banished for almost killing their leaders son. I’m lucky to still be alive.” 

Wanda’s eyes widened 

“You thought they would kill you? And you still wanted to go here?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“To be honest, I didn’t expect them to find me that fast. I was going to get us into a hotel and then leave you there, sneak out at night, get into thieves headquarters, speak with mon pere and ask him how things were, BEFORE I went over to the assassins. No one would dare to kill me if I came over there with Jean-Luc. No one is that stupid. Not even an assassin.” 

He ducked under the hit that was coming and kicked the man called Jacques between his legs. The man crouched down in pain. A second later, Louis had moved forward and put a knife to Remy’s throat. 

“You’re testing my patience, thief.” 

Then he let go of him and spun him around. He pulled something out of his pocket and Remy froze. Louis smirked. 

“You know what this is, right?” 

Remy nodded. 

“Good. One more hit, charge or even a stupid comment and I’ll put this on you.” 

That was when Wanda realised what it was. A Genoshan collar. And she understood why the cajun had started to act so calmly. Jacques stood up and they started to walk again. Then one of the men behind them tripped and accidentally stumbled in between Wanda and Remy. The cajun, acting on reflex, pulled a charged card out. As soon as he did it, his eyes flew over to the collar in Louis’ hand and he dropped the card. It fell to the ground and made a small explosion. It was completely harmless but it seemed to be enough because Louis started to walk towards Remy. 

“I warned you. Now keep still.” 

Wanda, seeing that Remy started to reach for another card, stepped closer to Louis and took the collar from his hands. 

“Stop it. You don’t understand.” 

The assassin raised his eyebrows. 

“I don’t? He got the rules and he broke them. As he said it himself: ‘He’s lucky to still be alive.’” 

Wanda glanced over to Remy and suddenly he smiled. A second later, he was laughing. The assassins frowned, and even Wanda was confused. Then they heard a powerful voice behind them. 

“The Prince of Thieves is back.” 

They all turned around and noticed a well built man, maybe two or three years older than Remy, with long blonde hair. He was smiling at Remy. Seeing him, the four assassins fell to their knees. Remy went closer to him and kneeled too. 

“Your Highness.” 

The man pulled him up and hugged him. Remy returned the hug with a grin. 

“What ‘Highness’, you idiot?” 

The cajun rolled his eyes. 

“You’re an idiot.” 

Then he sighed. 

“It’s good to see you again, mon frere.” 

They let go of each other and turned to Wanda. 

“Wanda, this is my brother Henri. Henri, this is Wanda Maximoff.” 

Henri took her hand and kissed it. Wanda was suddenly struck by how like it was to the first time she met Remy. 

“Henri LeBeau. Leader of Thieves and Assassins.” 

She didn’t really know what to answer, but she got saved by Remy who spoke up with surprise. 

“Assassins? So they were leading me to you.” 

Henri nodded. 

“I knew you would come back. I told them to wait for you.” 

“My banishment…” 

“Has been lifted. I’m the leader now. And I’m not letting mon frere live Dieu knows where.” 

Wanda looked up to Remy in time to see the complete shock on his face. 

“Mais… If you are the leader… Is pere?” 

Henri quickly shook his head. 

“Non! Non. Pere is alive. He gave me the leadership to make things easier.” 

Remy sighed. 

“I don’t understand, non.” 

Wanda noticed how he talked with an even heavier accent and rearranged some of the words. Henri waved his hand to the kneeling assassin’s but they didn’t move. 

“Monsieur, he’s dangerous. It’s not safe.” 

The older LeBeau snorted. 

“Remy is mon frere. Mon petit frere.” 

The men stood up, bowed and disappeared into the shadows. Henri turned to Remy and Wanda again. 

“Follow me. Pere is waiting. And a few others.” 

He led them towards a big grey car. He got in behind the wheel and Remy frowned as he and Wanda sat in the back seat. 

“You don’t have a driver?” 

Henri smiled. 

“Non. I like to drive.” 

He started with screeching tires and Wanda grabbed Remy’s hand. The cajun smiled and rolled his eyes. 

“It’s fine, cherie. Henri won’t crash us.” 

Wanda sighed but decided to accept the fact that the LeBeau brothers very clearly liked fast driving. A few minutes later they stopped outside a big white mansion. They got out and Henri led them towards the door. But before they got there, the door opened and a woman with long blonde hair ran out. 

“Remy!” 

She rushed over to Remy and threw herself at him. He hugged her and spun a few circles with her in his arms. Then he put her down and she laughed. He smiled. 

“Belladonna. You haven’t changed a bit.” 

She blushed a bit and turned to Wanda. 

“I’m Belladonna. Mais, you can call me Bella.” 

Wanda smiled. The woman's happiness was easily getting over to her. 

“I’m Wanda.” 

Bella nodded. 

“I already like you. Remy, you should go inside. Jean-Luc is waiting. And… Oh. Maybe it’s not the best…” 

Suddenly her smiled disappeared and she looked very nervous. Remy and Henri moved simultaneously towards her. They were so alike, even though they weren’t biologically related. Henri grabbed her hands and tilted his head. 

“What is it Bella?” 

She glanced from him to Remy and then back. 

“I… Julien is here. And he still hasn’t completely forgiven.” 

Wanda quickly wrecked her brain and remembered that Julien was the man that Remy had fought with. Julien was part of the reason why Remy was banished. The cajun slowly took a deep breath and nodded. 

“Alright.” 

He looked to the collar that Wanda still had in her hands. Henri noticed it and shook his head. 

“Non, Remy. You don’t…” 

“Stop. If humiliating me will make it right between us then I’m ready for it. It’s not like I don’t deserve it.” 

Wanda quickly went over to him. 

“Remy, don’t…” 

But he stopped her too. 

“Non. Remy knows what he has to do.” 

Henri looked extremely worried when Remy went over to third person form but Remy didn’t pay attention to it. He took the collar from Wanda’s hands and stretched it out towards Henri. 

“You do it.” 

Henri hesitated. 

“Henri. Trust me.” 

The man nodded and lifted the collar up to Remy’s neck. But before he closed it, he looked his brother straight in the eyes. Remy was nervous. It was visible. 

“I’m not leaving your side. I’ve got your back, mon frere. If Julien…” 

But once again, Remy interrupted. 

“Non. Let him do whatever he wants. Even if he beats me up. Just… Don’t let him touch her.” 

Bella moved closer to Wanda and linked her arm with her. 

“It’s alright Remy. I’ll take care of her.” 

Remy nodded and looked back to Henri. The brothers seemed to have a silent conversation between them and then Henri snapped the collar shut. Remy’s hand lifted to his throat as he groaned and swayed. Henri steadied him. 

“Remy?” 

“I hate this things.” 

He then nodded again and turned towards the house just as the door opened. A man with long brown hair came out and smiled widely when he noticed Remy. Behind him was a blonde man. Almost half of his face had burn marks. Remy winced and started to slowly walk towards him. Henri was just a step behind, never making a move to leave his side. Bella and Wanda walked behind them. The blonde leaned closer to the witch and whispered: 

“Whatever happens, don’t intervene. Remy and Julien need to get it out of their system. Remy is still blaming himself and feels that he wasn’t punished by the right person. Julien still wants to punish Remy for what he did. Just let them do it. Jean-Luc and Henri will step in if it goes too far. Alright?” 

Wanda didn’t like it, but she nodded. She trusted Remy. 


	60. You Have To Talk To Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so terribly sorry for not updating for so long. We had so much going on in school and at my work, that I didn't even have time to write anything. But now I should be able to write and update more often again.

Logan and Sharon were still on the way when she sighed deeply and pointed to the side of the road. 

“Pull over.” 

He glanced over to her with a confused frown but did as she had asked and drove off the road. He parked on the grass and turned to her with concern. 

“Are you alright? Feeling sick?” 

She nodded. 

“Yeah. I’m sick of the way you act. I understand that you blame yourself for what happened to Remy. But maybe you should try to talk to him instead of acting like there is no going back.” 

A soft growl escaped him but Sharon just lifted one eyebrow. 

“Don’t you growl at me. I don’t think you really understand what this is all about. Why do you think Remy is so comfortable with Victor, even after all that’s happened?”

Logan shrugged. 

“They know each other well.” 

Sharon shook her head. 

“No. He is comfortable, because he trusts him. He trusts that he has changed. And if he can give someone like Creed another chance, do you really think that he won’t be able to give you another one?” 

The feral let his head fall back against the headrest. 

“You don’t get it.” 

“Then explain. Because this is obviously going to bother you until you get to talk about this.” 

Her voice was irritated but also soft. She needed him to understand that she wanted to help him. They sat in silence for a few minutes. And then, Logan started to talk.

“I was hunting Creed ever since I can remember. We are partly brothers. The same father. He took care of me after we ran away and we fought in almost all the wars we could get to. But somewhere along the way, he started to let the feral side take over. Something I never allowed myself. That’s when he went his own way and I went my way. But after I spent some time at Stryker’s, I started to hunt him. Meanwhile, he had gotten into Sinister’s group. He was completely feral and I figured that he simply liked killing. I never considered that there might have been someone in his life. I escaped Stryker before Remy and Victor were taken in. I joined the X-Men and started to go on missions. But in between them, I went out to hunt Victor. And one day I got such a strong scent of him, that I was a bit surprised that he had gotten so slow and didn’t do anything to hide. But when I found the source of the smell, it wasn’t him. It was Remy. I was shocked. I had seen many of Victor’s victims before that. And he NEVER left his scent on them. With Remy, I could barely feel his own scent under all of Victor’s. I approached him and he, understanding that I was a feral, ran. But I found him again quite quickly and forced him to talk to me. In the beginning, he just kept charging things and throwing them at me. He stopped when I told him that he reeked of Creed. Something in him changed and he told me that he would listen. I needed him to explain to me why he had so much of that scent over him, so I understood that I needed to get him to trust me. I sat down and started to talk to him. I told him about being Creed’s brother and that almost made him run. But I just kept talking. Told him about all the wars. After two hours of me just talking, telling him all the details from the wars, I thought that I would have to leave. He just sat on the bed. Quiet. But then, after two hours, he started to ask questions. About my past. About Creed. About everything. I let him keep asking. Almost five hours later, he was more relaxed and started to slowly talk about his past as an orphan and the Thieves Guild. He was more hesitant when he came to the part when he was with Sinister but I assured him that I would not judge him. He told me about the massacre and continued on to talk about Stryker and Creed. He said that he knew that I was a feral and wanted to know all about my powers. So I showed him my claws. I cut myself and showed him the healing. And he finally relaxed completely. He told me about him being an omega mutant. About all his powers. I asked him then about the main reason why I talked to him. Why he reeked of Creed. He hesitated a few minutes before he told me about Creed being addicted to his blood. That he was on the run. That Creed was impossible to lose. I told him that I could help him. For some reason I wanted to help him. That was when he became nervous again. He said that he was done dealing with ferals and that he didn’t want to have any more debts. So I told him that I wasn’t like that. I told him that there would be no debt. He still didn’t want to believe so I swore to him that I would never turn into something like Creed. I swore that he was safe with me. That I would never hurt him. And that made him finally believe me. And now, I did what I swore I would never do.” 

He quieted and kept staring at the road. Sharon took a deep breath. She understood now why it had struck Logan so hard. He had seen what he did as a personal betrayal to the boy. To the scared boy that he had wanted to protect. Slowly, she reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. 

“Logan.” 

He didn’t react so she moved her hand down to his hand. Finally, he turned his head to look at her. She smiled softly. 

“Call professor Xavier and tell him that we will arrive a bit later than we planned.” 

Logan frowned. 

“Why?” 

“We’re going to New Orleans. You and Remy are going to talk. We can rent a car in Baton Rouge and drive to Orleans. That way, you’ll get more time to calm down. And Remy will get more time to reunite properly with his family.” 

Her voice was calm and firm. And Logan understood that she would not back down. He sighed. 

“Why don’t we do it another way? We go to the mansion. Talk to Xavier. Then we call Wanda and ask if everything is alright. I know that the guilds can get a bit angry if someone just drops by. It would be better if they knew we are coming. And then we can take the Blackbird to New Orleans. Alright?” 

Sharon slowly nodded. It wasn’t what she had planned, but it was good enough. As long as Logan actually talked with Remy, she would be happy. He smiled and started to drive again. Sharon reached over and grabbed the hand that he was resting against the gear knob. He glanced at her and smiled softly. She was so different from all the other women he had met. A few hours later they arrived outside the mansion. They grabbed their bags and Logan led Sharon inside. He growled with surprise when there was a flash of white and a second later, a white haired woman was hugging him. He rolled his eyes when he realized who it was. She let go of him and looked over to Sharon. 

“Oh. Hello. I’m Ororo Munroe. They call me Storm.” 

Sharon smiled. 

“Sharon Carter. Agent of SHIELD.” 

Logan turned around to a tall man who was coming towards him. He had odd looking glasses on and looked at Sharon with curiosity. 

“Hey, Cyke. Can you call the team to the War Room? I have things I want to talk to them about.” 

The man frowned but nodded and walked away. Logan turned back to Sharon. 

“Come on. Let’s go leave your bags in the room next to mine and then we’ll meet the others.” 

Ororo took hold of one of Sharon’s bags and smiled. 

“Let’s go. You’ll love the room. Logan chose his on the floor that has the biggest and most luxurious rooms. Jean and Scott stay on that floor too. Rogue, Kitty, Bobby and Piotr stay on the student floors. Hank almost never leaves his lab. I have a room up on the loft. I like to be high up. Are you staying long?” 

Sharon shrugged. 

“Logan and I didn’t really talk about how long I would stay. But I’ll be sticking around until he gets his life together.” 

The mutant frowned. 

“Get his life together? Why? Has something happened?” 

Sharon glanced to Logan. He shook his head. 

“I’ll explain everything in the War Room. I don’t like telling the same story ten times.” 

Ororo rolled her eyes but didn’t press the issue. They took the stairs to the third floor and Logan pointed to one of the doors. 

“That’s my room. The door on the right to it, is yours. The one on the other side is empty. That one is Cyke and Jean’s. The students are on the second floor. But I’ll show you around later. ‘Ro, can you go with Sharon? I have to check my things. Knowing Bobby, he most likely got in there and set up some pranks.” 

Ororo smiled and led Sharon to the empty room. The first thing she noticed was that the bed was enormous. There was a desk and a wardrobe in there too. A door in the corner was open to show the small bathroom. Sharon’s eyes widened a bit but she wasn’t too shocked. Some of Tony’s rooms in the tower were even bigger. 

“Do you like it?” 

She nodded. 

“Yeah. It’s beautiful.” 

Ororo’s smile widened. 

“Maybe you should stay for longer time. Me and Jean would love to have another woman around to keep an eye on Logan.” 

“And Scott.” 

They turned around to see a beautiful redheaded woman standing in the doorway. She smiled to Sharon. 

“I’m Jean Grey. Scott asked me to get you downstairs. He has gotten the whole team in the War Room.” 

Sharon smiled back. 

“Sharon Carter.” 

Jean nodded and went out. Ororo and Sharon followed her. The agent looked around with confusion. Seeing that, Ororo put her hand on Sharon’s shoulder. 

“Logan went most probably downstairs already. Come with me.” 

They went down a few stairs and entered a big room. In the middle stood a table with chairs around. In the chairs sat Logan, Scott, a boy who was playing with an ice cube, a girl with a white strip in her hair, a man with blue fur all over his body, a big man whose hand was shifting between metal and normal, and a girl with long brown hair. Jean went over to sit next to Scott. Ororo and Sharon sat down next to Logan. That was when a man in a wheelchair came in and Sharon guessed that it was professor Xavier. It was confirmed when he smiled to her. 

“Hello agent Carter. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Charles Xavier.” 

Sharon was a bit shocked that he knew who she was but then remembered that Logan had said that he talked about her with the professor. So she just smiled back. 

“It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for letting me stay here.” 

“That’s no problem at all.” 

Then he turned to Logan. 

“You had something you wanted to tell us, Logan.” 

Logan nodded and started to talk. He told them everything. About Remy’s past, about how they met, about the promise, about Remy’s life after that, about the fights, Ross, Marauders, Dark Avengers, Stryker getting him, the fight with Remy, fighting on the roof. He kept talking and no one made a move to stop him. When he was finished, Xavier sighed. 

“Poor boy. He’s been through so much.” 

He hung his head and seemed to be in deep thought. Jean leaned forward a bit and said with a serious voice:

“You have to talk to him, Logan. As soon as possible.” 

Logan nodded. 

“I will.” 

And Sharon felt relief. She would finally have some help with the feral. She just hoped that everything would end up well. 


	61. Yes

Pietro gently put Emma on the ground and looked around. The mansion looked quiet and peaceful. But both mutants knew that the most trouble was in the basement, where Stryker had put up his labs. Emma closed her eyes for a few seconds. 

“Are you getting anything?” 

She slowly opened her eyes and shook her head. 

“No. They may be in the panic room. I can’t get through those walls. But otherwise it’s all empty.” 

He nodded and sprinted inside. He was back a second later. 

“There are at least ten of them in the panic room. Do you think we can handle it ourselves or are we calling in someone? I’m sure Tony can be here in a few minutes.” 

Emma looked at him and smiled. 

“We’ll take care of it ourselves. I think it’s only right that we take back what is ours.” 

He grabbed her around her waist and sped off inside. As soon as they were in front of the big metal door, Emma used her power to open the door. Pietro ran inside and simply knocked everyone over. The woman smiled softly at that. The speedster, wanting to show off a bit more, grabbed a long rope and bound everyone together. Emma laughed silently and reached out with her mind to his. She sent a quick ‘I love you’ and left his head then. His thoughts were going a bit too quick to allow her to stay in his mind for longer time without getting a headache. He smiled at her and stopped next to the door. 

“What now? The labs or the bedroom?” 

Emma wanted to reach over and slap his head. But, knowing that he was too quick for her to do that, she simply rolled her eyes. 

“Is sex really all you think about?” 

Pietro smirked. 

“Nope. I think about your eyes sometimes. And my sister.” 

For a moment Emma just stared at him. 

“You know, you putting your sister in that mix is just odd.” 

He looked shocked for a whole second, which was very long time for him, and then burst out laughing. 

“Not like that, Em!”

He continued laughing for some more time before he got serious again. 

“Seriously. I’m worried about her. Especially since she seems to be completely in love with that cajun.” 

Emma’s expression softened. She walked over to him and took his hand. 

“It’s alright Pi. She will be alright. Remy won’t let anything hurt her.” 

Pietro tilted his head. 

“How do you know that? From what I’ve understood no one can get into his head.” 

Emma smiled. 

“Exactly. No one can control him. No one can make him hurt her. No one can make him turn against her. And he really loves her.” 

And before he could say anything, she quickly continued: 

“I don’t have to read his mind to know that. It’s in his eyes. He loves her. More than anything else.”

Pietro slowly nodded. The he suddenly smiled and pulled his phone out. Before Emma asked who he was calling, he already had the phone by his ear. 

“Hello? Fury? Can you send some people over to Emma Frost’s mansion? We have some of Stryker’s soldiers over here. We would like to get rid of them as fast as possible. What? Twenty minutes? Alright. They will be waiting outside. Bound. Don’t go inside. We’ll be busy.” 

Then he hung up and kissed her hand. 

“Wait here a second.” 

He started to swish back and forth with the soldiers until he had them all outside. He then bound them and stopped next to Emma. 

“So, where were we?” 

She rolled her eyes once again but this time it was more with fondness. Then something appeared in Pietro’s eyes and he held his hand up. 

“Wait. Wait here. There is something I want to do. Just wait a second. Alright?” 

He shot off before she even got the chance to answer. She was curious but knew that it would be impossible to guess with Pietro. Knowing him, he could run around the entire word before she got to the second floor. And that was what had made her fall in love with him in the beginning. The unpredictability. The fact that she couldn’t read him like she could do with others. She felt a soft gust of wind and then Pietro was standing next to her again. 

“Alright. I’m done. Let’s go.” 

He took her hand and started to drag her upstairs at a normal speed. That got Emma really curious. Normally, Pietro would simply pick her up and speed away. When they got to the stairs, she noticed that something was going on. There were rose petals and lit candles on every step. She glanced over to Pietro but he was just smiling and kept dragging her with him. He led her to the second floor and took her into the bedroom. There were rose petals all over the floor. The lights were off but the lit candles gave enough light to lit the room up. On the bed, laid a long red rose. There was a small table in the middle. It was also covered in rose petals. In the vase in the middle, were white and red roses. Dinner for two was waiting as well as a bottle of wine. Emma’s eyes widened and she turned to Pietro who just smiled. 

“I know we haven't known each other for a long time. We met in very unfortunate time. We have been through things together that I wouldn’t wish for my worst enemy. But somewhere in the middle of it all, I fell in love with you. And I don’t regret it. I will never regret it. You are everything I could ever wish for. I love you more than I ever thought I could love someone. So I have to ask you this.” 

Emma had now tears in her eyes. Pietro smiled wider and got down on one knee. He pulled a small box out from a pocket and opened it. Inside was a simple silver ring. He looked up to her. 

“Emma Frost. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She was shocked. This was not anything she had expected. 

“I…” 

Pietro looked at her with concern and nervousness. She wanted to tell him that she loved him too and that she will marry him, but she couldn’t get any sound out. After a few tries, she simply nodded and whispered quietly:

“Yes.” 

Then she suddenly found her voice again and said louder: 

“Yes. Yes!” 

She threw herself over him and he hugged her tightly. The nervousness disappeared from his face and he was smiling again. They held onto each other for a long moment. Then, he let go of her and grabbed her hand. He put the ring on her finger and lifted her hand to his lips to kiss it. Emma felt such happiness that she was afraid for a second that it was just a dream. But when Pietro pulled her close to him again and kissed her, she realized that this was no dream. This was real. Pietro really loved her. She had found her happiness. 

 

                                                                                  ********

 

Clint arrived back in the house the day after the fight and was met with a very angry looking Iron Man suit. He glanced at it with hesitation but then it nodded and through the speakers he heard a mechanical voice. 

“It’s nice to see you agent Barton.” 

The suit nodded  again and shot off towards the woods. Clint frowned but decided to ask about it later. He started to walk towards the house again when the door opened and Lila ran outside. She rushed over to him and jumped up into his outstretched arms. 

“Daddy!” 

He hugged her tightly and noticed Laura and Cooper coming out of the house. Laura wa carrying the one year old Nathaniel. Behind them was Happy Hogan. Clint’s eyes widened when he noticed him. He went over to them and gathered his family in a big hug while he kept his eyes on Happy. 

“What are you doing here Happy?” 

The man smiled. 

“Mr. Stark told me to stay here with a part of the Iron Legion to protect your family in case Ross would try something.” 

Clint opened his mouth but couldn’t get any sounds out. After a few tries he managed to choke out:

“Tony asked you to… Tony took care of my family? Iron Legion?” 

Happy just pointed to the woods. Clint turned his head towards the forest and noticed seven armours standing there. They all nodded and then shot up into the air. Laura smiled and gently freed Clint from the kids. She then pushed him towards the house. 

“Go call him.” 

Clint, still shocked, went inside and picked his phone up. He punched in Tony’s number and waited. After a few signals, Tony answered. 

“Hey Birdbrain. Already miss me?” 

“I just got home. The legion. Happy. Why?” 

He heard a sigh on the other side. 

“Why what? Why did I send them some protection? Because I know what Ross is capable of. As soon as I saw you with Cap, I sent a part of the legion there and told Happy to get there as fast as he could. That’s all.” 

Clint smiled. 

“Thank you. I… I should have been here with them. To protect them. Not just leave.” 

Tony sighed again. 

“Stop it, Clint. You didn’t know how bad things would go when you agreed to help Cap.” 

Clint rolled his eyes. 

“We are the Avengers. I should have suspected. Things always go bad for us. Remember that green jelly?” 

Tony chuckled. 

“Don’t even remind me.” 

The archer smirked. 

“You are aware that Sam will bring it up sooner or later. He’ll want to know.” 

“Yeah, I know. But for now I have other things to deal with.” 

Clint tilted his head. 

“You already started rebuilding? Damn, take it easy Tony. It’s been just a few days since you were in a coma.” 

He heard Tony breathe heavily. 

“It’s not that. I… Steve wants to talk to me. Alone.” 

Clint almost swore but Lila ran inside at that moment and he managed to stop himself. 

“Look, Tony. If he tries something, I’m sure that Barnes will be nearby. But I don’t think he will do anything to you. He seems to understand what he did and that he should have listened. Just give it a chance.” 

Tony chuckled. 

“You sound like Tasha. You two really need to stop spending so much time with each other.” 

Clint just smiled at that. 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just be calm. Let him explain. Give it a shot.” 

“I know. I will. I just…” 

And suddenly Clint realized what Tony was afraid of. 

“I doubt he will have the shield with him.” 

The silence on Tony’s side stretched for so long time that Clint started to worry that he had hung up. But then, the mechanic spoke up. 

“It’s so stupid, right? I even kept it in the workshop where I could see it all the time. But now that he has it again, I can’t even think about it without almost panicking. It’s like Afghanistan all over again.” 

Clint closed his eyes and hugged Lila with one hand to him.

“Just breathe Tony. And if you start to have a panic attack, just tell him. Steve is not stupid. He will understand.” 

After a moment Tony sighed. 

“I’ll see. It should be alright. I have to go now. I’m on the way to Steve and I have Pepper on the other line. I’ll call you later to check on you. Oh, and feel free to keep Happy for some time. He loves kids even if he would never admit it. He deserves some vacation.” 

And he hung up before Clint managed to thank him for keeping his family safe. So he just put the phone away and picked Lila up. He just hoped that Steve would take it easy. They didn’t need another Civil War. 


	62. Welcome To Wakanda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!!!   
> 1\. I'm terribly sorry for not updating for so long. Things have been happening and I didn't really have time to write that much. Now, to keep some kind of order to this, I will be updating every friday.   
> 2\. I'm on my way to officially change my name to Morgana. Therefore, my answers to your comments will come under that name.   
> Thank you for sticking around with my story. I love you all.

The flight to Wakanda had been quiet. Bruce, still tired after the fight, had fallen asleep. Pepper was sitting with her head buried in the tablet, trying to figure out what she needed Tony to do first, so that everyone would get off his back and he would be able to rebuild the Tower. T’Challa was on the phone almost the entire way. As soon as they landed, he excused himself and rushed off to see how things were going on after the imposter had been figured out. Pepper and Bruce stepped out of the plane and were met with a beautiful woman in a long white dress. 

“Welcome to Wakanda.” 

Her voice was soft and pleasant. Pepper smiled at her. 

“Thank you. My name is Pepper Potts.” 

The woman smiled back at Pepper. 

“Hello Miss Potts. My name is Shuri and I am T’Challa’s sister. My brother had to go see to some business, but he asked me to show you to your quarters and make sure that you have everything you may need.” 

Bruce swayed a bit and sighed softly. 

“Hello, Your Highness. It’s nice to meet you.” 

Shuri quickly shook her head. 

“Please. Call me Shuri. My brother is the king and he is the Highness here. I’m just the princess. So please, just Shuri.” 

Bruce and Pepper nodded, while Bruce swayed again. Shuri quickly waved her hand and a few servants came forward. They took the suitcases and disappeared. Shuri turned back to Bruce and Pepper. 

“Let’s go. I’ll lead you to your rooms. You seem like you need some rest.” 

He nodded again and she started to walk away. Pepper grabbed Bruce’s elbow and steadied him while they followed the princess. She led them through the palace and to a big cottage. 

“My brother had this cottage readied for the two of you. Here you'll be able to have some privacy from the rest of the castle. In case you ever need immediate help with anything, just ring this bell. There are a few servants that have been told to answer to you. That would be all. Now rest.” 

And she left before they even managed to start protesting about getting a whole cottage. Pepper turned to Bruce but he just shrugged. 

“To be honest, I don’t really care right now. I need to rest or I’ll fall over soon.” 

Her concern quickly shifted from the big house, to Bruce. 

“Of course. Let’s go.” 

They walked into the house and Pepper almost gasped. She was used to luxury. Tony had made her get used to it. But this was so much more. The cottage was worthy of a king and queen. Bruce, not really looking around, walked over to the big sofa and fell onto it. A few seconds later he was sleeping. Pepper smiled softly and picked up a blanket that was on one of the other sofas. She went to Bruce and put the blanket over him. Then she sat down in one of the armchairs and pulled her phone out. It was morning so she guessed that Natasha would be awake. She punched in the number and waited. After three signals, Natasha answered. 

“Hi, Pepper.” 

She smiled. 

“Hi, Nat. How are you?” 

She heard a sigh from the other side. 

“Tired. I woke up around 20 minutes ago. Tony is still asleep.” 

Pepper rolled her eyes. 

“Once Tony falls asleep, he could sleep through the end of the world.” 

Natasha snorted softly. 

“Yes. I  noticed. I’m going to go and make him some breakfast for when he finally gets up. I hope to keep him in bed at least for the whole day.” 

Pepper laughed quietly. 

“I wish you good luck with that.” 

Natasha laughed too. 

“Good luck might be needed.” 

Pepper leaned back and closed her eyes. 

“Have you heard from the others?” 

“No. Steve and Bucky decided that they would stay the night here. Sam, Rhodey and Creed are still asleep. Viz is most probably down in the labs. Emma and Pietro have not called yet. Neither have Remy and Wanda. Sharon texted me to say that they are still driving.” 

“Do you think that Steve…?” 

“Yes.” 

Natasha’s answer came immediately. 

“Yes. I think that Steve will want to talk to Tony. And, to be honest, I’m a bit worried about how it will go.” 

Pepper opened her eyes. Sudden worry settled over her. 

“Do you think that he might try something?” 

Natasha was quiet for a long moment. Then she started to slowly talk again. 

“I don’t think he will do anything intentionally. But Steve was friends with Howard. He is from a different time. He might not really understand what Tony has been through, only because the Howard he knew, was nothing like the Howard that Tony grew up with. I’m honestly worried that either Tony will lose his patience and snap or Steve will think Tony is lying and making things up. So many things could go wrong.” 

Pepper nodded. 

“I know. Can you text me when Tony wakes up? I want to talk to him.” 

“Yeah. Of course. Take care of yourself. And Bruce.” 

Pepper smiled. 

“I will. Take care of yourself too. And Tony.” 

Natasha hung up and Pepper slowly stood up. She started to walk around the house and look into the rooms. When she came back to the living room, she had counted ten bedrooms, three bathrooms, one kitchen on each of the two floors, four balconies, a big basement, an attic, one living room on each floor and a door out to a big garden. Just as she came back and sat down on the sofa, her phone pinged. She looked down on it. One message from Natasha. “He got me an actual ballet studio. I can’t believe it. He left to talk to Steve now.” Pepper smiled. She had known about the ballet studio. It had been Tony’s project ever since he had first fell for Natasha. He said that he wanted to do something for her. She quickly wrote: “Thank you.” to Natasha and pulled up Tony’s number. After two signals, she heard Friday’s voice. 

“Hello, Miss Potts. Boss is talking with Clint now. He will be available soon.” 

Pepper smiled. 

“Thank you Friday.” 

Then she hesitated and asked slowly:

“Friday?” 

“Yes, Miss Potts?” 

Pepper thought about if she should ask about this. But then she remembered the look of Tony in coma and she decided. 

“Is someone other than Tony, Natasha and Steve awake?” 

She waited for a moment while Friday most probably checked all the cameras. 

“Victor is in the living room outside the kitchen that Captain Rogers is in. He is watching the television right now.” 

Pepper frowned. 

“Creed? What is he doing there?” 

There was silence on the other side and she started to think that maybe something happened, when Friday answered slowly: 

“From what he said just now, he is there to make sure that Captain Rogers doesn’t kill Boss.” 

Pepper felt even more confused. 

“Wait a second. Why would Creed care so much about Tony?” 

Another silence, but this time she didn’t worry. Friday was most probably just asking the feral. Then, the AI spoke up again. 

“He says that he can’t let anything happen to Boss since Remy would rip his head off if he let Boss get hurt.” 

And finally, Pepper understood. Creed was really trying to change. For Remy. For his family. She wanted to say something more, but at the same moment Tony answered. 

“Pep? What’s up?” 

She smiled. 

“Hello, Tony. I hope you slept well.” 

He laughed. 

“Never better. Nat made me breakfast. And told me that I can destroy that bathtub on my private floor. Dummy and U are on it now. And I will have to go start making the plans for some of the floors. And all the renovations.” 

Pepper rolled her eyes. 

“Tony. Slow down. You woke up from a coma not so long ago. You have to take it easy for some time now.” 

She heard him snort. 

“Me taking it easy? Are you mad, Pep?” 

They were quiet for some time. Then Tony started talking again. 

“I'm on my way to the kitchen now. Steve wants to talk to me. I don't think I will freak out but…” 

He stopped in the middle of the sentence and sighed. 

“I'm not sure if I'm ready for this, Pepper.” 

She let out a sigh. 

“Listen, Tony. The longer you try to stay away from him, the worse it will get. Trust me. You need to talk. And, if anything happens, remember that Friday is keeping an eye on everything. She won't let anything happen to you. Alright?” 

“Yeah. Alright. Thanks, Pep.” 

She smiled. 

“Call me later and say how it went. I'll try to wake Bruce up and make him move to one of the beds. Sleeping on the sofa can't be good for him.” 

And she hung up. Tony would be alright. She knew that. Especially since Creed had decided to keep an eye on him. He had fought against both Bucky and Steve at the same time and had the upper hand. He would manage to take on just Steve without any problems.


	63. First Darts

Tony took a deep breath and nodded towards one of the cameras. Friday opened the elevator door and he walked out. But just two steps into the room he stopped in surprise. 

“Creed?” 

Victor turned away from the TV. 

“Yes?” 

Tony moved a bit closer to him. 

“What are you doing here at this time?” 

The feral shrugged and turned back to the TV. 

“I’m watching a movie. Is that forbidden?” 

Tony shook his head and sighed quietly. He didn’t understand this man. One moment he was trying to rip everyone apart, and the other he was acting like a completely ordinary human. But, on the other side, he was going to talk to Steve. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about having the feral outside the kitchen door. 

“Me and Steve are going to talk.” 

Creed just nodded. 

“I know. I heard him tell Friday to call you up here.” 

Tony looked a bit shocked. 

“You what?” 

Victor sighed and turned away from the movie again. Tony noticed that Friday paused it without anyone having to say anything and he was surprised that she had gotten so close with the feral. 

“Look, Stark. There aren’t many people I would fight for. Not anymore. But you kept Remy safe. He trusts you. You are a part of his family. And I will make sure that nothing happens to you.” 

Tony frowned. 

“So, correct me if I’m wrong, you are going to be my guard dog?” 

The feral snorted. 

“No. Of course not. But I don’t trust Rogers. So that means, that I will stay here.” 

Tony just stared at him for a long moment. He started to slowly understand. Creed didn’t care about them all. He cared about Remy. And, because of Remy caring about them, Victor had decided to keep them safe. He was really trying. 

“Alright. But if you tell anyone about what you hear today, I will lock you up somewhere and make you suffer.” 

Creed threw his head backwards and burst out laughing. 

“You could never hurt me more than Sinister and Stryker did. Now go. I’ll be here.” 

Tony nodded and slowly started to walk towards the kitchen, but he stopped when he heard Victor’s quiet voice. 

“Remember that I’m here. You are safe. He won’t try anything. I can get in there in a few seconds. He won’t be able to touch you.” 

Tony glanced behind him and noticed the honesty that shone from Creed’s eyes. He nodded slowly and then went into the kitchen. He closed the door behind him and turned towards Steve, who was sitting at the table. For some reason, knowing that the feral was right outside, made him calmer and more relaxed. Steve was keeping his blue eyes on him. He didn’t make any sudden moves and Tony appreciated that. He didn’t know how he would react if Steve had started to suddenly move around. He went over to the counter to pour some coffee into a cup, and looked around at the same time. The shield was not there. As if reading his mind, Steve spoke up carefully: 

“It’s not here. I left the shield with Bucky. I thought that you might not want to see me with it after… After Siberia.” 

Tony felt his hands shake slightly and walked to the table, the coffee forgotten. He sunk down into one of the chairs. 

“You wanted to talk.” 

Steve nodded. 

“I… I was wrong. About everything.” 

Tony just frowned but, before he could say anything, Steve continued. 

“I was blinded by my own wants and feelings. I wanted my friend back and I didn’t care about what consequences it could bring. I thought…” 

He didn’t get to continue. Suddenly the window shattered. They both shot up from their seats as they heard Victor rush towards the door to the kitchen. Then they heard a thump and a second later, two small darts came flying through the open window. One hit Tony in the neck, the other pushed into Steve’s arm. Both men were out before they even got the chance to pull them out or say anything. During it all, Friday didn’t say a word. She was offline and unable to do anything to help her creator or the feral that she had grown to like. 

                                                           ***

Victor was sitting in the living room. He had been there ever since he heard that captain talk about speaking to Stark. He knew, the same second he heard it, that he had to stay close to them. Remy would never forgive him if the mechanic got hurt. Victor felt slight envy when he remembered the way the cajun had interacted with Tony. But, on the other side, he was very grateful for the man being there when Remy had gotten away from Stryker. For keeping an eye on him for so long. Then suddenly he heard a female voice. 

“Mr Creed?” 

He tensed up, but relaxed when he realised that it was just the AI. 

“Yes?” 

“Why are you here?” 

He frowned. Should he really answer a machine? But then he remembered how Remy had talked with the AI as if they were friends and he decided to just answer truthfully. 

“I’m going to make sure that Rogers doesn’t hurt Stark.” 

It was quiet for a moment, and then the AI spoke up again. 

“And why do you care about Boss?” 

Victor frowned. 

“Most probably because Remy will rip my head off if I let anyone hurt him.” 

“Alright. I’m Friday, by the way.” 

The feral nodded. 

“Victor.” 

He sat staring at the movie, making only a small pause when Tony had walked through the living room and talked to him. Then he turned back to the movie, but his ears were picking up every little sound coming from the kitchen. Then, suddenly, he heard the window crash in there. He flew up from his seat and jumped over the couch. But, just as he was reaching the door, he felt a dart hit him in his back. He quickly drew it out and felt his healing factor try to fight whatever it was that was injected into him. But it was too strong, even for him. Everything became black and he crashed into the door, unconscious. 

                                                            ***

Logan was driving. Next to him, Sharon was slowly falling asleep. They had left the mansion not long after the meeting. Sharon had left all her things in her room, asking Ororo to keep an eye on it. The storm mutant had promised to make sure that no one would get in there and mess up her things. As they drove, the silence hung heavy between them. The windows were still open. Logan hadn’t had time to fix the air conditioning system yet. Suddenly, he drove off the road and stopped. Sharon opened her eyes and turned to him. 

“Where are we. We can’t have reached New Orleans so soon.” 

Logan shook his head. 

“No. But the nature calls. I’ll be back in a moment.” 

Sharon nodded and stepped out of the car to stretch her back a bit. Then she opened the door wide and sat down in the seat again, with her feet outside the car this time. The sun was shining right at her and she closed her eyes. A few minutes later Logan came back. 

“There. I’m done.” 

She opened her eyes and looked at him. A second later, a dart hit his shoulder. He crumpled to the floor, before he even had a chance to see his attacker. Sharon didn’t have a chance to get out of the car. The next dart hit her in her leg. Her head fell back and her eyes closed. 

                                                                 ***

Clint was walking around the house, mowing the lawn. Laura had taken the kids and gone to the city to buy food and new bath suit for Lila. Clint had sent Happy with him. Tony had been completely right. Happy loved kids. And, as Clint had very quickly noticed, the kids adored Happy. He let them ride on his back, went out to play with them, read them stories. Clint was thankful for that man. For the fact that he had kept his family safe. He had to thank Tony for that later. The mechanic had done so much for his family, even though Clint sided with Steve in the war. He got done with the lawn and sat down on the porch. He was exhausted. In the good way. It wasn’t the same strain in his muscles that he sometimes felt after a fight. No. This was a pleasant strain. Suddenly, he noticed something moving in the woods. Remembering that Tony had called the Iron Legion back, he quickly got up and rushed back into the house. Just then, a dart flew right past his head. Only the fact that he had moved saved him from getting hit with it. He threw himself behind the big chest standing on the porch and curled up. His bow and arrows were inside. But the way to the door was open. Nothing to cover behind. He glanced towards the window. It wasn’t that far from him. And it was open. If he could divert their attention to something else, he would be able to jump inside. He quickly looked around. One of Nathaniel’s toy trains was on the ground next to his foot. He picked it up and sighed. He had to try. With a powerful movement, he threw the toy as far away as he could. It clattered against the railing of the porch and, at the same second, he got up and jumped towards the window. He was right by it, when a dart hit him in his lower back. He fell forward and slumped over the bench that was standing there. 


	64. More Darts

Natasha was dancing around in the studio. She hadn’t felt so free in a very long time. Her movement were fluent, almost as if she had never stopped dancing. As if she hadn’t spent years fighting ruthlessly against enemies. She was so happy that Tony had given her this. Not that it really mattered that he had much money. She didn’t care about the money. To her, Tony could have been the poorest man on the earth. She would still love him the same. And with the plans they had to adopt Peter, they would be able to have a family. That have always been her dream. Ever since she was a little girl, she had wanted to have a family. A husband that would love her, and always be there for her. And a child that she could spoil and take care of. Then she was taken by the Red Room, and her dreams were crushed. She never found love. She couldn’t have children. And she thought that she would never be able to be happy again. But then she met Clint. And she saw that, only because she was a spy, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t be happy. She followed him to his house and met Laura. She was a bridesmaid at their wedding and became Lila’s godmother. She found her place within their little family, but there was always something tugging at her heart, making her throw herself into more and more dangerous missions. And then she met Tony. And she was surprised by his strength. By the fact that he was so brave, even when he thought that he would be dead in a very short time. But then she saw how he interacted with Pepper. And she thought that there was no chance that this man would ever fall in love with her. And look where it landed her. She smiled as she made a pirouette. It felt so good to just dance again. To not have to care about anything else. That was when a dart flew in through the open window. She fell to the floor almost like a dancing puppet whose strings had been cut all at the same time, in the middle of a beautiful performance. 

                                                       ***

Pietro was running laps around the mansion and picking up all the garbage the soldiers and scientists had left behind. He dumped it all in front of the front door and sat down on the steps. The sun was warming his face and he closed his eyes. It was so nice. To be himself. To not have to answer to some crazy man who wanted to destroy the world. He thought to his sister. Wanda had changed too, he realized. Last time he had seen her, she had been having her eyes for Vision. She was so angry back then. Seemed to hate the entire world. But now she was entirely different. Pietro was still surprised as to why she was calling Tony ‘dad’. She seemed to be really close with Pepper, Clint and Natasha. And then there was Remy. Pietro felt worry rise inside him. He didn’t trust the cajun. Whatever Emma might say. He didn’t trust him. There was something odd in the way the young man was behaving. Almost as if he was ready for an attack at any moment. As if he was unable to fully relax. Pietro had heard about his time at Sinister’s. He knew that the cajun had been Stryker’s captive. And he was afraid that, whatever it was that was keeping the thief on his toes, would get his sister in trouble. He opened his eyes and looked straight at the sun. It was shining so brightly that he had to close his eyes again a few seconds later. He was so lost in his thought that he didn’t see the dart that was fired towards him. It hit him in the shoulder and he crumpled to the ground without a sound. 

                                                           ***

Emma was moving around the house with a smile on her face. She hadn’t been so happy in a long time. First, she had been living alone. No one ever came to visit. She couldn’t go to Xavier’s mansion since Jean and Scott seemed to dislike her. Jean had, for some reason, gotten into her head that Emma was trying to steal Scott away from her. So she couldn’t go there. She didn’t have friends. No one from her family was alive. And then Stryker came along and she got fooled to believe him, even though she had heard about him before. And when she realized what was happening, it was too late. He had managed to plant that device in her neck. Then Pietro came along. She nursed him back to health only for Stryker to break him down and make him into a mindless puppet. She hated to see him like that. And even though they were controlled, feelings had blossomed between them. It had became something special. She really loved her. And then they got free. And she had been worried. For a few seconds she was worried that Pietro wouldn’t feel the same about her. But she didn’t have to worry. Pietro didn’t change. He still loved her. And now, he had proposed. They would get married. She wasn’t alone anymore. Emma went over to the window and looked up to the sky. Some birds were flying by and, when she looked down, she saw Pietro sitting on the stairs. His eyes were closed and he looked a bit worried. Emma turned away from the window and walked to the door. She understood that Pietro was worried about Wanda. They were twins, after all. Their bond was special. Then she suddenly felt something odd from outside. She couldn’t really pinpoint what it was so she went back to the window and opened it. Her heart froze when she looked down to the steps. Pietro way on his back. His head was in a position that looked uncomfortable and in his shoulder was a small dart. She stilled in horror when she saw it, and missed therefore the dart that was flying towards her. She felt it pierce her skin and tried to change into her crystal form. But it was too late. She fell to the floor, her eyes closed her mouth still slightly open in shock. 

                                                             ***

Bucky was sitting in the room that he had chosen as his, when he heard a soft knock on the door. He was surprised. Although the others had accepted him, only Tony, Natasha, Sam, Clint and Wanda had really spoken to him. Tony and Natasha were most probably still sleeping. Clint had left, as well as Wanda. Could it be Sam?

“Come in.” 

The door opened and Steve stepped inside. Bucky tensed up. He still didn’t know how to act around his old friend. Steve stopped next to the door. 

“Um… Do you have a minute?” 

Bucky nodded. The captain was visibly nervous. 

“I… I’m going to go talk to Tony.” 

The Winter Soldier stood up quickly. Steve held up one hand.

“Wait. I’m not going to hurt him. I… I need to apologize to him. Before we leave. I just wanted you to have this while I go talk with him.” 

He stretched out one hand towards him and held out the shield. Bucky frowned. This was not what he had been expecting. He was surprised that it had taken so short time for Steve to realize what he had done wrong. He grabbed the shield and nodded. 

“Just remember, Steve. If you hurt him, you’ll have me to deal with.” 

Steve winced. 

“Not only you, I’m afraid.” 

Then he went out. Bucky waited for a few minutes before he grabbed the shield that he had put on the bed, took his gun and walked outside.

“Friday. Is anyone down in the training room?” 

“No. It’s completely empty.” 

He nodded and quickly went to the elevator. The training room was empty. It was unusually quiet there and he felt a bit uneasy. But then he took a deep breath and shook his head. It wasn’t like him to get nervous. He put the shield next to the wall and started to run. After 20 laps around the room, he stopped and started to stretch. Then he had a fight with one of the dummies that Friday had put in the middle of the room. Suddenly, he heard something wrong from the right side of the room. Almost as if someone was trying to sneak up on him. He quickly turned around in time to see a dart coming towards him. His reflexes acted before he even thought about what he was doing. His metal arm came up to cover his face and throat. The dart bounced from it and fell to the floor. He threw himself towards the shield and managed to get it. He rolled around and twisted his body so that the next dart hit the shield. He dove down behind the couch and took a deep breath. What was going on. He pulled out his gun and jumped out from behind the couch. But the room was empty. Slowly he made his way towards the door. The hallway was empty and clean. Almost as if no one had been there. He made it to the elevator without any problems. But the elevator doors didn’t open for him as always. 

“Friday?” 

She didn’t answer. Bucky quickly looked around him. Someone had hacked Friday. 

“Jamie…” 

He quickly turned around and ran to the stairs. He had to get to the common floor. The stairs took him no more than two minutes. He kicked the door open and looked around in the living room. A movie was playing, but otherwise it seemed that everything was alright. The door to the kitchen was open and, when he slowly went inside, he finally saw something out of order. The window was on the ground in small pieces. Otherwise, everything looked more or less normal. He went back to the living room. There he saw something that he had missed before. A dart was on the floor next to the door. He crouched down and looked at it, without touching it. The dart was identical to the two that were shot at him. He looked up and frowned again. He had to get out from the Tower and hide. And try to contact the others. 


	65. Final Darts

Bruce and T’Challa were walking around in the garden. They had left Pepper and Shuri together, and left to go for a walk. Bruce was still a bit exhausted and T’Challa was taking slow steps to make sure that the man could keep up with him without any problems. 

“How do you like the place we have readied for you and Miss Potts, doctor?” 

Bruce smiled. 

“It’s wonderful. Really. And Pepper loves it.” 

T’Challa looked pleased. They came to the end of the garden and stood in front of a small house. 

“This is where we keep all the weapons. And this is where my suit is. I’m doing my best to keep Wakanda a peaceful place.” 

Bruce nodded. 

“I understand. We are not going to cause any problems, your Highness.” 

Before T’Challa answered, a sound was heard from the other side of the garden. A second later, they were both hit with small darts. Both fell to the ground instantly. Not even the Hulk could stand whatever was in the darts. 

                                                                  ***

Pepper and Shuri were in the house that had been given to Pepper and Bruce. The women were looking through the clothes that Shuri had brought for Pepper. The redhead was feeling a bit odd taking clothes from the princess, but Shuri had told her, again and again, that it was alright. 

“What do you think about this one?” 

She held up a beautiful, blue dress. Pepper’s eyes widened when she saw it. It was really something different. She nodded slowly. 

“It’s beautiful.” 

Shuri’s smile was bright. 

“Wonderful. Then you’ll have to wear it tonight at the feast.” 

Pepper nodded. A feast, she could understand. It would most probably be like one of those banquets that she had attended with Tony. Suddenly they heard screaming from the outside and a woman ran inside. 

“Princess Shuri! Princess Shuri!” 

The princess spun around and hurried over to the woman. 

“Angelica. What’s happening out there?” 

Angelica took a deep breath and started to quickly explain. 

“The king and that doctor have been attacked. Some witness saw them being hit with darts and collapsing. Then, a woman appeared, grabbed them and disappeared.” 

Shuri turned to Pepper and grabbed her arm. 

“Come on. Let’s go. We need to hide you.” 

And she dragged a shocked Pepper with her towards the door that led to the basement. 

 

                                                          ***

Sam was on his bed with the lights dimmed and the curtains closed. He was thinking about everything that had happened in the latest days. It had been crazy. Even crazier than the whole Civil War. He started to slowly go through all of his teammates in his head. First was Tony. One of the main characters in this mess. Tony was absolutely NOT the person who they had thought he was. What they had seen as selfish thinking was just a desperate try to keep his family together. He understood now why the mechanic had locked Wanda in the Tower. Because he didn’t want her to suffer like he had. He knew how it was to be abused. To be pushed to the bottom and have to fight his way back up. Sam understood that Tony was not the bad guy he had thought he was. He was a man with so many layers and so much hidden pain that it was almost impossible to know the real him fully. Then his thoughts drifted to Steve. He had followed Steve without any thought. He had simply assumed that Steve would be the one who was right because he knew him better than he knew Tony. And, as it turned out in the end, it wasn’t the smartest choice. Because Steve, however patriotic and honest he was, was still living in the past. Peggy’s death hurt him and left him aching. Sam understood clearly now that, when Steve got the chance to save another person from his past, he took it without thinking. But, right now, Sam was sure that Steve would apologize to Tony. Or at least try to talk to him. He had seen how Steve had slowly started to realize what he had done. Next was one of the newcomers. Remy. Sam was not sure how he should feel about the thief. He was a great warrior. That couldn’t be taken away from him. And there was no doubt that, in case of emergency, he could be trusted 100%. And Tony seemed to trust him fully. But, on the other side, there was Victor. They pretty much came as a ‘take one, get two’ deal. His thoughts drifted automatically over to the feral. He was a big unknown. And that was how far he got. A soft sound was heard and a dart hit him in the shoulder. His eyes slipped shut and everything went black. 

                                                                ***

Rhodey was in his bedroom. He was walking around in circles. It was a thing he had started with in MIT when the dorm rooms had been small enough to only allow them to walk in small circles whenever they needed to pace. Or maybe it was just the fact that he had shared the room with Tony. His friend always left everything on the floor and every available surface. Even Rhodey’s bed. His legs were aching, but he kept walking. He needed to think. Calm down. Because, even though the fighting was over and the bad guys were in prison, Rhodey felt uneasy. Almost as if he couldn’t relax. At first he thought that it was because of Creed staying in the Tower. But, as he soon realized, thinking about the feral being in the same building only made him calmer. Then he got the idea that maybe it was because of Barnes. But even that was wrong. Although he felt a bit nervous when he thought about how easy it would be to trigger him, he didn’t feel fear. So it wasn’t Barnes. It couldn’t be Natasha or Vision. Those two were close to him. And they would never turn on Tony. And it wasn’t Tony. Even with the new powers, he was still Tony Stark. The annoying man that he had called a brother for almost his entire life. But what was it then? Steve? It could be him. Wilson? He was a blank card too. After all, he didn’t know the Falcon that well. Rhodey stopped and looked around the room. Something was wrong. Quickly he snapped his head towards where he sensed something. His eyes widened when he saw two figures standing in the corner of his room. Before he could say anything, one of the figures made a quick movement with its hand. It was almost identical to the way Remy threw his cards. The dart flew towards Rhodey and hit him in the chest with deadly precision. He fell to the floor, unconscious. 

                                                                ***

Vision was walking around the kitchen on Tony’s floor when he heard a crash from the bathroom. Thinking that Tony was in trouble, he quickly phased through the walls and stopped in shock when he saw the scene in front of him. The bathroom was a mess. U was hitting the crumpled remains of a bathtub with rage. Dummy was spraying everything with the extinguisher. Vision quickly put on his father voice and started to say: 

“Dummy. Sto…” 

A dart hit him in the back. For a moment he just stood there, staring at the bots. Then he felt his brain shut down and he collapsed to the floor. A figure grabbed him and disappeared before Dummy, who had charged at it with the extinguisher, could get to them. 

                                                       *** 

Wanda was walking around in the garden when she heard a voice calling out her name. She turned towards the house and noticed Bella, who came running towards her. The blonde woman stopped next to her and smiled softly. 

“Are you alright? You have been pacing here for almost half an hour now.” 

Wanda sighed. 

“Half an hour. What are they doing so long?” 

Bella frowned and then shook her head. 

“I may know. But I have a feeling that you don’t want to hear this.” 

The witch grabbed her hand. 

“Please, Bella. I need to know what’s happening to him. Or I will go after them and it will not be pretty.” 

For a long moment, the assassin just stared at her. Then she burst out laughing. 

“I know now what Remy sees in you. You have a fighter’s soul, Wanda. Don’t let anyone ever take that away from you. And as to Remy, he will be alright. Knowing my brother, he will do his best to humiliate him. He will most probably whip Remy. In front of the others. Bind him up and make fun of him in front of everyone. But he will not do much more. Trust me, Wanda. I know my brother. Julien isn’t bad. But the rivalry between him and Remy have been going on for a very long time. I still don’t understand why. But they never seem to be able to agree on anything. That day, when Remy won over Julien, Julien’s pride was hurt. That was why he decided to put in a word with the leaders and have Remy banished instead of killed. He didn’t want him to die. He just wanted to get rid of him. But, as I said before, they never really settled it all. They need to get it out of their system.” 

Right then, she froze in her place. Her blue eyes looked around with suspicion. Wanda moved a bit closer to her. 

“What is it?” 

Bella just shook her head and whispered back. 

“We are being watched. But I don’t know from where and by who.” 

Right then, a dart flew past her and hit Wanda in the hip. The girl swayed, closed her eyes and fell to the ground. A woman appeared and reached out to grab her, only to let out a surprised scream when Bella kicked her in the stomach. The assassin took out her knife and charged at the woman. But she was faster. She ducked under the knife that was coming towards her throat and plunged her own knife into Bella’s stomach. While the blonde fell to the ground, gasping, the woman walked over to Wanda and grabbed her arm. They both disappeared a second later, leaving a bleeding Bella behind. 

                                                               ***

Remy let out a sigh of relief when he felt the cool cloth on his back. Henri was looking at Julien with furious eyes but the younger of the two brothers just smiled. 

“Are we even now?” 

Jean-Luc, who have been standing on the sidelines and making sure that Julien didn’t go too far, decided to let them talk alone and walked away, back towards the house. Julien looked Remy straight in the eyes. Then he walked over to Henri, who was still cleaning the wounds on Remy’s back, and stretched his hand out. 

“Give me the key.” 

Henri froze. 

“Non. You’ll just throw it away. You can’t…” 

But Remy didn’t let him continue. 

“Henri. Just give it to him.” 

After a moment of hesitation, Henri stretched the key out to Julien. The blonde grabbed it and looked down at the sitting Remy. 

“You still have that healing factor?” 

Remy nodded. He knew that, if Julien threw out the key now, he would be stuck. Unless Stryker knew a way to get rid of the collar without actually unlocking it. But Remy did not like the idea of asking that man for help. Meanwhile Julien was still thinking. Then he seemed to decide on something, because he leaned forward and unlocked the collar. It fell away and Remy groaned. Henri looked at him with concern. 

“You alright, frere?” 

Remy nodded. 

“Oui. It’s just overwhelming. Every time. No matter how many times this happens.”

Henri nodded and stood up. 

“Do you want me to bandage you? Or will you heal quicker?” 

The mutant shook his head. 

“I won’t heal that fast. I’m not Victor. But I don’t need bandages.” 

He pulled his shirt on and then put the coat on. With a few quick movements, he checked all the pockets. Nothing was gone. Slowly, without a word, the three men started to walk along the streets, back home. After a few minutes, Julien moved a bit closer to the other two. 

“We are being watched.” 

Remy’s eyes flashed purple. 

“From where? Can you see who it is?” 

Julien shook his head. 

“I don’t know who they are. A man and a woman. They are a bit behind us. She has a knife hidden in her boot.” 

Remy nodded and put a hand into his pocket. Just then, he sensed something moving extremely quickly towards him. He grabbed Henri and pulled him to the side. The dart sailed past them, in the exact place where his shoulder had been. He spun around and sent a card flying towards the pair that was standing a bit away from them. The woman grabbed the man and they disappeared. Remy felt sudden movement behind him and spun around again. This time he sent out more cards. But even now, the woman managed to transport them away. She appeared in front of him a second later, but he was ready. His staff blocked her knife and he almost got in a hit. But she was too quick. Meanwhile Henri and Julien went after the man. Then, the woman appeared next to their enemy and they both disappeared. Remy looked around. The few people that had been on the street had fled. They were alone. Until a young man came running towards them. 

“My Lord! My Lord!” 

Henri looked at him with concern. 

“What is it?” 

The man stopped in front of them and drew in a shaky breath. 

“My Lord. Madame Belladonna. She was attacked. She and the witch. The witch is gone. Madame Belladonna is on her way to the hospital. She was stabbed.” 

All three men paled. Henri quickly ran to one of the cars on the street and picked the lock. He threw himself inside while Remy and Julien took the backseat. The car sped off towards the hospital. 


	66. The Three Survivors

Pepper was shaking all over her body. She was still sitting in the basement. Shuri had sent out some men to check the safety of the palace. Then, she pulled out a phone and made a call, speaking quickly in wakandian. Meanwhile, a young girl had walked over to Pepper and given her a cup of hot tea. She said something in wakandian, seemed to realize that Pepper doesn't understand it, and just smiled softly. The shaking woman smiled back and slowly started to drink. Just then, Shuri got off the phone. She took a deep breath and sat down on one of the chairs. 

“I have bad news.” 

Pepper nodded, to show her that she was listening. The princess took another deep breath. 

“There is no connection with Stark Tower. None at all. It seems as if even the AI is gone.” 

Pepper’s eyes widened. But then suddenly she felt the need to do something. She grabbed her own phone from her pocket and dialled Tony's number. No answer. The same went with Rhodey, Wanda, Natasha, Clint and Sam. She even tried Steve's number, but didn't get any answer. Then she remembered that Remy had given her the number to his brother right before they left. She tried it and, after a few signals, a man with thick cajun accent answered: 

“Oui?” 

Pepper drew in a deep breath to calm her nerves a bit. 

“Hello. My name is Pepper Potts. I got this number from Remy.” 

It was quiet for a moment. Then, the man sighed and called out: 

“Remy!” 

Pepper heard some moving around and then Remy’s voice  answered.

“It’s Remy.” 

And Pepper calmed down. At least a bit. 

“Remy. It’s Pepper. Are you and Wanda alright?” 

For a long moment it was quiet. Again. Just like his brother, Remy seemed to carefully consider what he was doing and saying. 

“Wanda is gone.” 

Pepper felt her heart skip a beat. 

“What? Her too?” 

She heard the cajun draw in a sharp breath. 

“Too? Who else is gone?” 

“Bruce. Tony. Everyone, it seems. What’s going on Remy?” 

His irritation could be heard when he answered. 

“I don’t know. I wasn’t there. There was something I had to do. She stayed with Bella. When we were on our way back, we were attacked by a man and a woman. They disappeared and a boy came to us. He said that Wanda was gone, and Bella had been stabbed and was taken to the hospital. We are here now.” 

Pepper closed her eyes. 

“How come you weren’t taken away?” 

She heard a snort from the other side. 

“Remy and Henri are thieves. Julien is an assassin. It’s not easy to sneak up on us.”

Then his voice became a bit more distant and she got only a few words. 

“Henri… Go… Needs… Have to… Non… Oui… I know… Tell Bella… Sorry… My fault…” 

Then his voice came back. 

“Madame Potts. Where are you?” 

Pepper opened her eyes. 

“Wakanda.” 

“Take the jet to New Orleans. Pick me up. Then we’ll go to the Tower. We need to figure this out.” 

                                                                   ***

Remy ended the call and turned back to the other three men. Henri was pacing again. Julien was sitting completely still, staring at the door that the doctor had disappeared behind. Jean-Luc was keeping his eyes on Remy. The mutant went a bit closer to him. 

“I have to go, pere.” 

He nodded. 

“I know, Remy.” 

He stood up and put a hand on Remy’s shoulder. 

“Remember son. This is not your fault.”

The young man just turned away from him and looked at his brother. 

“Henri?” 

The older brother snapped his head towards him. The hard look in his eyes disappeared. 

“It’s not. From what the witnesses said, Bella wouldn’t have been hurt if she hadn’t gone in between that mutant and your girl. Bella knew what she was doing.” 

Julien nodded. 

“I hate to say it, but Henri is right. It wasn’t your fault LeBeau.” 

Then he stood up, walked quickly over to Remy and put his hand out. Remy grabbed it and Julien pulled him closer to himself. 

“Get whoever did that to my sister and make sure that he or she knows not to mess with the cajuns again.” 

Remy nodded and, at that second, a nurse walked out of a room. 

“Mr. LeBeau.” 

Remy, Henri and Jean-Luc all looked at her. She blushed a bit. 

“Um. There is a plane. I was supposed to tell that to, um…” 

She glanced down at a paper she was holding. 

“Gambit.” 

Remy nodded. 

“Merci, petite.” 

The girl blushed even more and hurried away. Remy turned back to the other three. They were looking at him with surprise. The mutant shrugged. 

“That’s the name I took. I need to go. Tell Bella I’m sorry.” 

And he walked away, before any of the others managed to answer. While he was walking, he checked the pockets. All the cards were there. His bo-staff was in his hand. He was ready. As soon as he stepped into the plane, Pepper hurried over to him and hugged him. Remy, although surprised, hugged her back and concentrated on calming her down. Meanwhile, the jet lifted from the ground. The cajun looked around. 

“Friday?” 

Pepper pulled away and shook her head. 

“No. Friday is offline. Tony installed an AI autopilot in this plane. So that there is no real pilot needed. But that’s all he can do. Fly the plane.” 

Remy nodded. 

“Alright. Let’s head to the Tower first. Maybe we’ll find something there.”

                                                                    ***

Bucky was doing his best to be quiet and sneaky. But it was a bit hard because of the shield. He had been hiding in the shadows in an alley, across the street from the Tower. He didn't know what had taken Friday down. One hour after the attack, he saw a jet landing on the roof of the Tower. Slowly, he made his way back to the door. The elevators were still off so he ran up the stairs. The shield was secured on his arm. He stopped in a hallway and listened. Two people. One of them was walking heavily. In high heels. The other person was more quiet. Bucky had to admit that he was almost fooled. He thought that there might be only one person. But then he heard it. Light steps, almost as if the person was sneaking his way forward. He took a deep breath, noticed that the two people had stopped, and rounded the corner, shooting at the same time. He heard a woman's scream and saw Peppers wide eyes. Remy, who was the other person, quickly swung his staff and hit the bullet before it reached them. It bounced off the charged staff and hit the wall. Remys purple eyes turned to Bucky. 

“Barnes!” 

The soldier quickly lowered his weapon. 

“Remy. Pepper. Thank God you are alright.” 

Peppers eyes watered and she quickly hugged Bucky. 

“Dear Lord! I thought everyone was gone. Do you know where Tony is?” 

She was breathing heavily and Bucky looked up to Remy for help. The cajun sighed and gently grabbed Pepper. She glanced at him and then put her arms around him. He held her tightly. Using his empathy, he calmed her down to the point where she was able to stand on her own and was breathing calmly. Then, he turned back to Bucky. 

“How did you get out?” 

Bucky, realizing that he was still holding the gun, quickly lowered it and answered slowly. 

“I was attacked in the training room. I heard them and my training from the Winter Soldier days kicked in. The first dart hit my metal arm and bounced off. Then I managed to get to Steve’s shield and deflect the second dart. After that, it just stopped. I got to the elevator, but Friday was off so I had to take the stairs. I found a dart in the living room. There was a drop of blood on it. Inside the kitchen, the window was broken. Steve was going to talk to Jamie, so I’m guessing that it was where they were. Seeing the dart in the living room made me think that maybe Natasha had followed him there and was making sure that Steve don’t do anything stupid.” 

Pepper slowly shook her head. 

“No. Natasha was in the ballet studio that Tony had build for her.” 

The soldier frowned. 

“Then who…?” 

“Creed.” 

Remy’s head snapped over to her. 

“What?” 

“I talked with Friday shortly before Tony went to talk with Steve. She told me that Creed was in the living room outside the kitchen and I was surprised. So I asked Friday why he was doing it. Friday said that he had told her he was doing it for Remy. Then Tony finally answered the phone and I didn’t question it more.” 

The cajun was completely shocked. 

“Victor? It’s…” 

And then he shook his head. 

“No. Not now. We need to find them.” 

Bucky sighed and leaned against the wall, letting the shield fall onto the floor. 

“But how. I didn’t even see who attacked me.” 

Remy winced. 

“I did. I even fought them. The woman at least. She is a mutant. Teleporter although she is agile and strong as few. The man was different. He didn’t seem to be a mutant. Frighteningly good with his aim, but not a mutant. He was clothed in black, with white gloves and boots. And he had a white bullseye on his forehead.” 

Bucky looked at the thief in surprise. Remy, noticing that, shrugged. 

“I’m a thief. I don’t need much time to notice and memorise things. The woman had black leather pants and a black top that showed her stomach. Short black hair, black lipstick, eye patch over one eye. Skillful with knives. That’s all I got.” 

The soldier nodded. Suddenly Pepper, who had been standing silent all the time, put a hand to her mouth and rushed off. At the same second, Remy was hit with a wave of panic coming from her. He strengthened the shields and ran after her, along with Bucky. They found her bent over the toilet. Remy gently grabbed her hair and held it out of the way. When she was done, he helped her stand up and walk over to the sink so that she could rinse her mouth. 

“Thank you, Remy. I really don’t know where that came from.” 

Remy smiled, but then frowned. He looked around and the hand that wasn’t on Peppers back, pulled out a card. Bucky raised the shield that he had picked up when they chased after Pepper. 

“What is it?” 

Remy frowned even more. 

“I’m… Not sure. I pick up your feelings. And Madame Potts. But there is something else there too. Almost like a third person. But with more primal emotions. Hunger, happiness, sadness. Not even a feral is like that.” 

Bucky looked around. 

“Can it be an animal?” 

Remy shook his head. 

“Non. They are different.” 

Suddenly Pepper gasped. Understanding appeared in her eyes. A second later, she started to cry again. Remy quickly pulled her close to him. Over her head, he exchanged a look with Bucky. The soldier shrugged. He didn’t understand this either. 


	67. I Have A Plan

Remy gently led Pepper to a room on the floor they were on, and sat her down on the bed. The feeling of a third being in there with them was still in him, but he wasn’t concentrating that much on it. The shocked woman was his priority. He slowly calmed her down and then smiled. 

“What’s going on?” 

He dropped the “madame”. Even though Jean-Luc had raised him to be a gentleman to women, he felt that he would connect with her better as a friend. Pepper looked up at him and took a shaky breath. 

“I… When me and Bruce met again… We… It was an accident. It just broke. And Bruce said that he couldn’t… I…” 

And she started to cry again. But Remy had gotten all the information he needed. And it seemed impossible. He sent enough calming emotions to Pepper, so that she almost fell over. He grabbed her and helped her lay down on the bed. Then he kept intensifying the calming emotion, until her whole body relaxed and her eyes closed. He gently stroked her hair and then turned back to Bucky. The soldier looked completely confused. 

“You got anything from it?” 

The cajun nodded but kept quiet. He was lost in his thoughts. Bucky tapped his metal finger on the shield. The sound finally drew Remy out of his thoughts. 

“When doctor Banner was in the accident that made him into the Hulk he was hit with a gamma ray. So much that any other human would have died. It made him infertile. Unable to have children. Or that was what he thought. From what I understood, he and Pepper had sex once, when doctor Banner came back to New York. The condom broke. Doctor Banner assured her that she wouldn’t get pregnant since he couldn’t have children. But, as it seems, he was wrong.” 

Bucky let his head fall backwards and hit it on the wall. 

“Pepper is pregnant?” 

Remy nodded. 

“And it’s moving quickly. It hadn’t been so long since they met. And I can already feel the child’s emotions. Something is wrong with this. Like a bad Twilight story.” 

Bucky tilted his head. 

“A what?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“There is a book about vampires. One of them gets a human pregnant. But the child is growing really quickly. It gets dangerous. In the end, the vampire turns her to make her survive.” 

The soldier looked at him with shock. 

“And you read those books?” 

Remy grunted. 

“Seriously, Barnes? That’s the problem you see in this? And yes, for your information, I read those books. I was on a train for over two days. I had to do something. Gambling could get me thrown out. And I didn’t want that.” 

Then he glanced to the sleeping Pepper. He was still holding his empathy over her to make sure she stayed relaxed and sleeping. Bucky looked at her too. 

“Alright. So what now? We need to find the others. But we can’t take Pepper with us. And there is no way I’m going to leave her behind. Especially not, knowing that she is pregnant.” 

Remy frowned. Then, suddenly, he smiled. 

“I may have an idea. Give me your phone.” 

Bucky, although surprised, gave it to him. He quickly punched in a number and put the phone on speaker. After a few signals, a man’s voice answered:

“Major Smith.” 

Remy smirked. 

“Bonjour, major. I hope you remember me.” 

Bucky heard a string of curses from the other side and felt shocked at how much a person could curse in the span of a few seconds. When the major calmed down, his voice was strained, almost as if he had to force himself to not shut the phone off. 

“Of course I remember you, freak.” 

Bucky quickly looked at Remy’s face, but the cajun didn’t react. He was still smirking. 

“I’m really happy to hear you too, major. I have a small proposition for you. Something you might be interested in.” 

It was quiet for a long moment. Then the major cursed again, but more mildly this time. 

“Talk.” 

Remy’s eyes were filled with triumph. 

“Well, major, I need a favor. I need to find out about where a person is. And said person’s number. She is in the military. If you can do it for me, I’ll forget that I ever met you, and the debt will cease to exist. What do you say, major?” 

It was quiet for a moment. Then a sigh and the major asked: 

“Who is she?” 

Remy’s smile widened. 

“Her name is Philippa Sontag. Might also go under the name Arclight. I need to know where she is and her number. With the importance in the number.” 

They heard another sigh. 

“I’ll call you back on this number in a few minutes.” 

And the line went dead. Bucky looked at Remy. 

“Who was that?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“Major Jordan Smith. A real asshole. Thinks he is the best. I played with him once. He got so into it, that he didn’t even realize when he was owing me more than he would be able to earn in ten years. I just told him I would be back to collect the debt and left.” 

The soldier sighed and slowly sat down on the edge on the bed. He was careful not to wake Pepper. 

“You do that often?” 

The cajun nodded. 

“If I know they will be useful in the future? Yes. I don’t want their money. I earn it while I play with others. These people are just there for information. They don’t have a choice.” 

“You’re blackmailing them.” 

It was a statement. Remy shrugged. 

“You’re going to talk about my morals? Really, Asset?” 

Bucky flew up, but the calm look in Remy’s eyes stopped him. He sunk onto the bed again. 

“I’m not him anymore.” 

The cajun nodded slowly. 

“No. You’re not. But he is still there in you. In your mind. If you were forced to do it to protect your family, you would kill. You would slaughter. You wouldn’t hold back. It’s the same way with me. I’m Remy LeBeau. Gambit. The one that plays cards to earn money and makes things explode. But inside, deep inside, I’m still the Gambit that was created in Sinister’s laboratory and Stryker’s prison. I’ll never be free of him. We have both been through things that changed us. And I’m telling you Barnes, there is no way in running. No meaning. You’ll just end up hating yourself. Hating your life. You’ll start to hate everyone, even your closest friends. Just accept it. There is no need to pretend. Not around me. I know.” 

Right then, the phone rang. He answered and put the speaker on. 

“Oui?” 

“I’ve got it. Philippa Sontag. She contacted the military yesterday.” 

He quickly said her number. 

“You got it?” 

“Oui.” 

The major’s next question was asked with an insecure voice.

“And our debt?” 

Remy smirked. 

“It’s all settled. Got back to work, major. And forget about me. I know I will not think about you.” 

And he hung up. Remy quickly punched in the number he had been given. A few signals later, the woman’s voice was heard through the speakers. 

“Hallo?” 

“Ari? It’s Remy. Are you far from New York?” 

There was surprise in her voice when she answered slowly: 

“Not really. I checked in with the military not so long ago. But I’m still just outside New York. I can be in the Tower in three hours.” 

Remy smiled. 

“Thank you. We’re waiting. Be careful.” 

“Sure thing, Rems.” 

Remy ended the call and put the phone on the table. Bucky leaned forward. 

“You have a plan?” 

The cajun nodded. 

“Oui. Come on. Let’s go down to the garage.” 

The soldier frowned. 

“Why? And what about Pepper?” 

Remy sighed. 

“There is a manual restarting control there. If we manage to get Friday on again, we’ll have a big advantage. Pepper will stay asleep as long as I’m in the same building. I can keep her calm from the garage.” 

After a few seconds of hesitation, Bucky nodded. He knew that Friday was powerful. If they could get her on, her help would be very useful. So he stood up from the bed and followed the cajun out of the room and down the stairs. In the garage, Remy pointed to a big black car. 

“There is a key to the control hidden in the trunk of that car. Could you get it out? I’ll open up the plate that hides the keyhole.” 

Once again, Bucky frowned. 

“Why would Jamie keep the key hidden in the trunk of a random car?” 

Remy sighed. 

“Because that’s the last place a thief would look in, with the amount of cars that exist here. Trust me. I’m a thief. I know.” 

Slowly, Bucky walked over to the car and opened the trunk. 

“Do you really have a plan? Or are you just acting like you have one?” 

Remy closed his eyes for a second, before he opened them and charged the tip of his bo-staff. 

“I have a plan, mon ami. You just won’t like it.” 

He jumped forward and, before Bucky understood what exactly was happening, he hit the soldier’s head with the staff. The small explosion that was created, made Bucky black out. Remy quickly pushed the falling man, which resulted in Bucky falling into the trunk. The thief quickly lifted the man’s legs and put them in the trunk too, before he slammed it closed and locked it. Then he leaned against the wall and pulled out the phone he had taken out from Bucky’s pocket. Pushing in the right number, he waited only one signal, before Arclight answered. 

“Yes?” 

“Ari. Listen. When you get to the tower, there will be a woman on the top floor. I pretty much overwhelmed her with calmness and made her believe that she wanted to sleep. She should wake up in five hours. Maybe a bit more. She is pregnant with a child that could get dangerous for her. Take her with you somewhere safe. Call the Marauders together again. Don’t let anyone hurt her. Do you understand me?” 

“Yes. But what about you?” 

Remy sighed. 

“I will be alright. Don’t worry about it.” 

And he just hung up. Pepper would be safe with the Marauders. He got in behind the wheel and started the car. He wasn’t sure if he was right about where to go, but he would get there. He had to. As soon as he was out on the street, he knew that he was being followed. He could see them, even though they thought they were invisible. Half an hour later, he got to an abandoned warehouse. He parked outside and got out of the car. A few seconds later, a man and a woman appeared in front of him. The man held a knife, and Remy had to use all his will to not pull out a card. 

“We guessed that you would find us. We’ve heard about you.” 

Remy smirked. 

“It’s nice to know that my reputation spreads around so fast. Although using one of Sinister’s old labs… I’m surprised.” 

The man shrugged. 

“Not my idea. And no one ever comes here. Boss likes that. Now. Why are you here? You can’t be stupid enough to think that you can take on us all.” 

The cajun shook his head. 

“Non. Remy’s not here to fight. He wants in.” 

Surprise showed on the man’s face for a second, before he raised one eyebrow. 

“You want in? And why would you want that?” 

Remy leaned against the car. 

“Remy knows where the biggest profit is. Where he has the biggest chance to survive. And he got you a small gift.” 

He walked around the car and opened the trunk. Bucky’s eyes were still closed and Remy frowned. 

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t hit him THAT hard.” 

He poked the soldier with one hand, only to have it grabbed and twisted in a very painful way. But, before Bucky could do anything else, he was hit with a dart and fell back into the trunk. Remy started to massage his hurting arm, while the man smirked. 

“Well, in that case. Welcome on board, Gambit.” 


	68. Waking Up

Steve was the first person to wake up. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a big dungeon. Along the walls, the other Avengers were shackled. Logan had scrapes on his face, which shocked Steve, since he knew about the man’s healing factor. The same thing was wrong with Victor. There was a bruise on his forehead. Bruce, T’Challa, Vision and Wanda looked to be completely unharmed. Sam was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt which indicated that he had still been in bed when he got taken. Natasha’s long hair was messy. Tony and Sharon looked calm, almost peaceful. Rhodey was the only one not shackled in a standing position. He was sitting on the ground, and the braces were gone from his legs. Emma was in her human form, with her head hanging down. Clint wasn’t wearing any of his gear, so that meant he had been surprised at home. Steve noticed that Remy, Bucky, Pietro and Pepper weren’t there and felt fear. Had those three woken up earlier and been taken away? And where were they? He heard a grunt and turned to where Sam was slowly opening his eyes. Next to him, Wanda was waking up. Slowly, one by one, all the Avengers opened their eyes. Their reactions varied from person to person. Tony looked positively bored. After all, this wasn’t the first time he had been kidnapped. Logan and Victor were growling, trying to break out of the shackles. It led to them getting cuts on their wrists. Cuts that didn’t heal. That made both ferals stop and just stare at each other in shock. Rhodey and Sam were taking the captivity rather calmly. After all, both had been in the military. They were ready for things like that to happen. Natasha, Emma and Clint were looking around, assessing the situation and looking for ways to get out. Wanda had almost had a freak out but was quickly calmed by Sam. T’Challa and Vision were just looking confused and slightly angry. Sharon seemed to be calm, but inside she was scared. This was the first time she was in a situation like this. Bruce was positively shocked. He kept blinking very quickly and trying to say something, but then he would just shake his head. Steve, taking over the leader role, asked: 

“Is everyone alright?” 

Everyone but the ferals nodded. Logan growled. 

“I can’t heal. And I see that neither can Victor.” 

Tony nodded. 

“Whatever was in those darts, blocked all mutations. I can’t access mine. I’m guessing that neither can Wanda or Emma. And it seems like it’s also blocking all other superhuman attributes. Bruce can’t Hulk out. I guess that Cap doesn’t have his strength anymore either.” 

Steve nodded. Sam looked around, before he asked: 

“Where are Pepper, Remy, Pietro and Bucky?” 

Emma turned her head to him. 

“Pietro was outside when we got hit by the darts. I saw him on the stairs just seconds before i got hit myself.” 

Bruce, finally snapping out of his shock, spoke up. 

“Pepper was with princess Shuri when we left her.” 

T’Challa smiled. 

“In that case, she is completely safe. My sister will not let anyone hurt her.” 

Tony turned his head towards Wanda. 

“Was Remy with you?” 

She shook her head. 

“No. He was with Henri and Julien. I was with Belladonna.” 

The genius nodded. 

“That means he’s alright. Two thieves and an assassin will not let anyone just walk up on them. Who was with Bucky?” 

Steve frowned. 

“I went to him to give him my shield before I came up to the kitchen. Did anyone see him after that?” 

Everyone who was in the Tower that morning shook their heads. Steve opened his mouth but, before he managed to say anything, they heard footsteps and the door opened. A big guy in a black uniform stepped inside, dragging an unconscious Bucky after him. He shackled the soldier to the wall and left, slamming the door shut behind him. Natasha, who was next to Bucky, used the shackles to lift her lower body in the air and poke him with her foot. Slowly, he came to. Immediately he tried to get out of the shackles, but was stopped by Steve’s voice. 

“It won’t work, Buck.” 

Natasha kept her eyes on the soldier. 

“How did you get here?” 

Bucky, suddenly remembering everything, growled. 

“That cajun bastard. It’s all his fault. I never should have trusted him.” 

Both Wanda and Tony leaned forward, but it was Sam that asked the next question. 

“What do you mean? Where is Remy?” 

“He came to the Tower with Pepper. After Pepper had a freak out moment, he calmed her down and lured me down to the garage. Then he locked me in a trunk  and gave me over to them. He said that he wants to join them.” 

While the others were shocked by that, Bruce got hung up on another thing. 

“Pepper had a freak out? What happened?” 

Bucky hesitated but, before he managed to say anything, the door opened and three persons stepped inside. A man with a bullseye on his forehead. A woman in black clothes. And Remy. The cajun was walking a step behind the other two and seemed to be a bit hesitant about actually entering the cell. Bucky sent him an angry glare but he didn’t get a chance to speak, because Tony had already asked a question. 

“Who are you? And what do you want from us?” 

The man stepped a bit closer to him. 

“They call me Bullseye. That woman over there is Callisto. As to what we want. Well, we get paid good to do this. I think that’s reason enough.” 

Just then, Wanda’s angry voice asked from the other side. 

“Where is Pietro? What did you do with my brother?” 

Bullseye sighed. 

“Sadly, that speedster managed to escape us. But he can’t run forever, so don’t worry. You’ll see him soon enough.” 

“And what about Pepper? Where is she?” 

Remy stepped a bit more into the cell. 

“She’s dead. That child you put in her, doctor Banner, killed her. Which really saddens me. I was ready to protect her. I even told Arclight to put the Marauders back together. But she texted me not so long ago. Pepper died.” 

Then he turned around and left the cell with the shocked Avengers. The other two mutants followed him, closing the door behind them. A pain filled scream followed them, and Remy shivered. In the short time he had been with the Avengers, he had never heard Bruce Banner make a sound like that. Bullseye patted him on the shoulder. 

“That was pretty brilliant.” 

Remy shrugged. 

“I said I could break them, and I broke them. Now I need a bed. I’m tired.” 

Right then, Bucky’s phone rang. Remy pulled it out and just looked at the screen for a moment. He didn’t recognize the number. Was it possible that Barnes had given this number to someone? No. He wouldn’t. Slowly he answered and put the phone up to his ear. 

“Oui?” 

“Remy? It’s Ari. It took me some calling around, but I got everything the way it should be now. Potts is still asleep, but I moved her to my car. We are on our way to a secret jet. We’ll be going to Savage Lands. Vertigo settled in a small village there and says that the mutants are very friendly. There is a mutant doctor who lives there. I figured that he would be the best option since we don’t know how this baby will affect Potts. Right now, she seems to be calm. I think that your calming still lingers. I’ll keep you updated.” 

And she hung up. Remy almost smiled. Ari was always talking as if she was reporting something. As if she was still in the military. He turned back to the other two, who were watching him. 

“It was Arclight. She told me that she had already made it all look like a kidnapping, disposed of the body and is on her way out of the country.” 

Bullseye frowned. 

“Wait. So the woman is really dead?” 

The cajun nodded. He didn’t even hesitate before the next lie came out of his mouth. 

“The kid in her killed her. I don’t know how, I’m not a doctor. But I’m guessing it was just too much for her body.” 

Callisto looked conflicted for a moment. 

“She was really pregnant?” 

Remy nodded, before he followed Bullseye away from there. They came to a long corridor. 

“Here. Room number 17 is yours. Boss will be back in a few hours. He will most probably want to see you, so get all the sleep you can get until then.” 

Then he turned around and walked away. Remy sighed and entered the room. Just before he closed the door, a flash of silver passed him, the door was slammed shut and he was pressed against it, just seconds later. Pietro was glaring at him with anger in his blue eyes. He was in deep trouble now.


	69. I'm Scared

Remy sighed quietly. 

“Quicksilver.” 

The man pulled him a bit forwards and then slammed him against the wall again. Remy grunted. His back was still sore after the whipping he got from Julien. He tried to push the speedster away from him but found out quickly that it was impossible. 

“What did they give you for selling everyone out?” 

Remy frowned. 

“I did not sell them out. The only person I did give them is Barnes.” 

Pietro snorted. 

“Yeah, right. You are good, I admit that. I can’t even tell that you are lying.” 

And that made Remy finally snap. He opened his walls and let all the feelings he had been bottling up, out and spilled them all over Pietro. The speedster was across the room a second later, curled up on the floor and shaking. Remy walked over to him, his eyes glaring with anger. 

“Don’t judge me, before you know the truth. You don’t know what I’m going through. I’m not who you think I am. You think I would sell them out? You think I would turn my back on the man who saved my life when I was throwing it away? You think I would sell out a girl who accepted me despite everything I have done? You think I would betray my own father?” 

Pietro just kept shaking. The fear he was feeling was stronger than anything he had ever felt. It was even stronger than what he felt when he and Wanda were under that bed. Under it all was a deep feeling of anger. He grabbed his head in his hands and started to pull at his hair. Remy, realizing what was happening, quickly closed his walls and sent calming emotions to the other man. Slowly, Pietro collected himself and sat on the bed. 

“What was that?” 

Remy sighed heavily and sat on the chair next to the bed. 

“That is what I’m feeling right now. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” 

Pietro frowned. 

“Why are you so scared?” 

For a long moment, Remy was quiet. He didn’t know how to answer. Fear had been a part of his life ever since he landed on the streets as a child. He never got rid of it. He just got better at hiding it from the others. Having his walls helped. But what should he tell this man? This man who so clearly hated him. But, before he came up with something, Pietro leaned forwards. 

“Remy. Just tell me. I’m sorry for what I said. I’m just worried about Wanda and Emma.” 

The cajun took a deep breath and decided to simply tell him the truth. 

“I’m scared that I will lose the people that I care about. I’m scared that someone will find out that I’m lying to try to save them. I’m scared that Bella will die. I’m scared that Pepper won’t survive the pregnancy.” 

“Wait, what? Pepper is pregnant?” 

Remy nodded. 

“Oui. With doctor Banner. There seems to be something wrong with the child. I sent her away with Arclight. The Marauders will take care of her.” 

“And what about the others?” 

The cajun shook his head. 

“I don’t know. I was going to find out where they were held and bust them out. But there is something odd with the cell that they are held in. It’s almost like having a collar on. All mutations seem to disappear. And, from what I noticed on my short visit down there, it’s not only mutations it blocks. Doctor Banner have not Hulked out and the captain haven’t destroyed the shackles. And there is no idea in trying to blow the walls out from the outside. I already thought about it. Sharon, Victor and Rhodey are shackled to the wall next to the door. And I’m not sure if blowing the door itself would do anything to whatever it is that is blocking the powers.” 

Pietro closed his eyes and groaned. 

“So this means that there is pretty much nothing we can do?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“There is always something to do. And there is no way I’m going to just give up. I’ll come up with something.” 

The speedster opened his eyes. 

“WE will come up with something. We’re in this together now. Of course, I won’t try to convince them that I’m on their side. I’m not as good at lying as you and would most probably blow it all. But I can help you if you need to contact someone on the outside or get information out of places without getting noticed.” 

Remy nodded and looked around the room. This wasn’t anything he had planned for, but it could prove to be useful to have someone on the outside. His eyes landed on the green light over the door and he almost facepalmed. The green colour reminded him of someone who would maybe be able to help him. He quickly turned back to the speedster and asked: 

“Do you remember Loki? That man who saved Victor’s life.” 

Pietro nodded. 

“Think you could find him?” 

“Consider me found.” 

Both men flew up and turned towards where Loki was standing leaned against the wall. Remy frowned. 

“How did you know that we were here?” 

Loki just smirked. 

“I have my ways. And I like to keep an eye on people that intrigue me.” 

The cajun quickly checked his walls but stopped when he saw the trickster shake his head. 

“Not like that. I don’t have to get into your brain to know where you are. I have other ways. Now. What did you want?” 

Since Pietro, who had heard the tales about Loki and the chitauri from Clint, was still staring at the man with distrust, Remy quickly explained what had happened. Loki frowned more and more. In the end he nodded. 

“I understand. But, if this cell is able to take down the Hulk, I don’t think I will be able to do anything inside of it. But I can easily help you outside of it.” 

Remy tilted his head slightly. 

“And what do you want for it?” 

Loki smiled softly. 

“Nothing.” 

Remy and Pietro glanced at each other. 

“Nothing?” 

Loki nodded. 

“Nothing. I want to make things right with the Avengers. And I want to make things right between me and my brother. He would have done anything he could to help them. And, since he can’t be here, I’ll do whatever I can to help them.” 

While Pietro sat back down on the bed, Remy kept eye contact with Loki. He understood that. The need to make things right. He nodded and opened a link between him and the trickster. He sent over a bit of thankfulness before he cut off the connection. Loki frowned for a second before he smiled and nodded. They were three now. And, when Remy thought about it, they were a pretty powerful team. 


	70. We Will Protect You

Pepper woke up in a small room. There was a bed that she was on, a small bedside table and a wardrobe. The window was closed and the curtains were covering it. The walls and floor were bare and made the room look cold and boring. Slowly, the woman stood up and walked over to the window. She pulled the curtains back and froze when she noticed that she was in what seemed to be a jungle. It was dark outside but she could see the trees and landscape quite clear. She spun around seconds later and was going to rush towards the door when she felt something odd in her stomach. She looked down and, first now, realized that her stomach was bigger than usually. And all the memories crashed into her. Hiding in the basement with princess Shuri. Remy and Bucky. Finding out that she was pregnant. But then she frowned. She wasn’t that far along. She shouldn’t be showing yet. Slowly she walked back to the bed and sat down. Her hand, almost automatically, rested on her stomach and she sighed. Why wasn’t she in the tower? Had they been attacked and kidnapped too? Where were Remy and Bucky? She got pulled out of her thoughts by a soft knock on the door. It opened seconds later and a woman with long green hair stepped inside. Pepper remembered her. Vertigo. One of the Marauders. But that didn’t make sense. Remy had said that they wouldn’t cause any more problems. The mutant closed the door behind her and smiled softly. 

“Hello. My name is Vertigo, but you are welcome to call me Iggy. You are Pepper, right?” 

Pepper nodded, stunned by the kindness in the other woman’s voice. Vertigo went a bit further into the room and pulled the curtains closed again. Then she turned back to the shocked redhead. 

“I understand that you must be very confused as to what is going on. Remy called Ari and asked her to come to the Stark Tower and get you to some safe place. The safest place that they could think of was here. The Savage Lands. We are in a place that is partially populated. It’s like a small village. The people here take good care of each other and keep danger away from here. You and your baby will be safe here with us. Just remember to keep your curtains closed after dark. The light from the windows could attract wild animals and that could get dangerous.” 

Pepper just stared at her with big eyes. Vertigo sighed and walked over to the bed, where she sat down next to the woman. 

“Listen to me, Pepper. You are safe here. No one in this village will hurt you. Sunfire and Riptide are currently on their way here too. We will protect you, even if it means we will get hurt in the process or worse. We will not leave you. I swear. We’ll do anything we can to help you get through this pregnancy and to keep you away from harm. Just trust me on that. Can you do that?” 

Slowly, Pepper nodded. She was still confused, but she had a feeling that this woman was speaking the truth. And Remy had always talked kindly about her. She would have to trust her. Especially now that she had a small life to take care of too, and couldn’t afford to get in any kind of trouble. She thought back to the moments before she fell asleep in the Tower. 

“Vertigo? Do you know what happened with the Avengers? Who it was that kidnapped them?” 

The woman frowned. 

“Not really. I know a few facts. After Ari got here, she started to call around and ask people about what was going on in the crime world in New York. All she got to know was that there is a new boss who has put together his own team and seems to have some kind of vendetta against the Avengers. She managed to figure out two people from the team he put together. One of them is Bullseye. He is not a mutant, but his skills make him very like one. He is an assassin, with an almost impossible skill to throw things perfectly. He is said to never miss his mark. The other is a mutant called Callisto. From what we know about her, she has heightened strength, agility and reflexes as well as night vision and accelerated healing factor. Lately she had been gone for some time, and came back being able to teleport. We suspect that there were experiments done on her. Maybe by some mad scientist like Sinister, maybe by the military. We can’t find any records on that. Other than that, we don’t know anything about the people who kidnapped the Avengers. But Ari is not giving up. She’ll keep looking until she finds something. But right now, our priority is you. How are you feeling?” 

Pepper, who had been listening to every word the woman said, and had gotten very worried about Tony and the rest, now shifted her thoughts back to herself. And that was when she realized that she was extremely hungry. 

“I’m hungry. That seems to be the only thing out of the ordinary right now.” 

Vertigo smiled and stood up. 

“Alright. Follow me. I’m sure we can find something that you like. Ari actually thought about it before you came here and bought some food in New York that she brought here. Is there something you are craving more than anything right now?” 

Pepper stood up and thought about the question. Now that she was concentrating on the subject of food, she was realizing that she was indeed craving something. But it didn’t make any sense at all. 

“Actually yes, but I don’t understand it. Right now I feel like I could eat a whole can of pickles and drink orange smoothie with it. But that combination doesn’t make any sense.” 

Vertigo smiled softly. 

“Sweetheart, you are pregnant. Getting those weird cravings is completely normal. And we happen to have pickles here. And, believe it or not, orange smoothie. Ari stocked up on pretty much everything she could buy in a short period of time. And, if you want something we don’t have here, just tell us. We’ll send one of the boys to get it. Now come on. I’ll lead you to the kitchen.” 

She opened the door and Pepper followed her through the barely lit hall to a small kitchen. In the middle of it stood a table with four chairs. The fridge was enormous and Vertigo smiled when she noticed Pepper’s shocked expression. 

“We don’t hunt that often around here, so when we do, we stock up on the meat. Every house has an extra big fridge and a big freezer in the basement.” 

Then she pulled out a can of pickles, opened it and put in on the table. Then she put an orange smoothie next to it and nodded to the other woman. 

“Sit down and enjoy. Is there anything else you would like with this?” 

But Pepper was already at the table, the smells almost hypnotizing her. She shook her head and pulled out one pickle. When she had eaten half of it, she suddenly laughed quietly. Vertigo tilted her head slightly, so she explained: 

“It’s funny. I never even liked pickles.” 

The other woman was going to answer when Arclight walked inside the kitchen. 

“Hello. I’m glad to see that you are alright Mrs. Potts.” 

Then she grabbed a can of beer and walked out again. Vertigo pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. 

“Excuse her. Ari has always been more formal and stiff than most of us. Maybe it’s because of her military background. I don’t know. No one ever managed to crack through that shell of hers. Or well… Greycrow did. But that was long ago. And not my story to tell.” 

Pepper just nodded and picked up the smoothie. She sniffed at it first and then took a sip. Seconds later she was bent over a trash can. Vertigo was next to her instantly, holding her hair out of the way and massaging her back. 

“It’s alright. Just let it all out. It’s normal. You’re alright.” 

Once Pepper was done, the mutant helped her back to the table and sat her down on the chair she had abandoned earlier. Then she grabbed the smoothie and threw it into the trashcan before she lifted the entire trash bag out of it and walked outside with it. She came back quickly, after leaving the bag in the big main trashcan on the street, and put a new bag in. Then she quickly put on some water on the stove and walked back to Pepper. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Pepper groaned softly. 

“Is this really normal?” 

The mutant nodded. 

“Yes. Throwing up while pregnant is normal. It doesn’t happen to every woman, but it isn’t anything to be worried about as long as you still eat and drink as you should.” 

Then she went over to the stove again and dropped a few small leaves in the kettle. A soft smell spread around the kitchen and Pepper felt her upset stomach start to calm down. A few minutes later, the mutant put a mug with tea in front of the woman. 

“It’s my grandmother’s special. She used to give it to my mother when she was pregnant. It’s calming for the stomach and nerves.”

Pepper tasted it and noticed with relief that she could keep it down. Slowly she picked up another pickle and took a bite. And, once again, she was relieved to find that her stomach didn’t have any trouble with them. Vertigo watched her with a smile. Everything would be alright. She was sure of it. 


	71. Tony. I'm sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a bit late. Had a rough couple of days. Next update will be on Friday.

Everyone in the cell were in different states of shock. Bruce was the worst, followed closely by Wanda, Rhodey and Natasha. The news of Pepper’s death had been so sudden and unexpected, that some of them still had trouble believing it. Steve glanced over to Tony and noticed with shock that the man was grinning like a madman. 

“You think this is funny, Stark?” 

Everyone turned to Tony. The genius let his head fall back against the wall and softened his smile a bit. 

“Yeah. A bit. I think it’s funny how easily Remy can manipulate everyone around him, even without his mutation.” 

Bruce was now shaking, but it was unclear whether it was with grief or anger. Tony looked around and, seeing that the others were staring at him with equal parts of shock and anger, suddenly realized that he was the only one in the cell who had noticed the important clues that the cajun had dropped. He quickly shook his head and started talking again. 

“Guys, Pepper is not dead. Didn’t you hear Remy?” 

Steve, who had gone over from shocked to angry now, answered with a raised voice. 

“Yes, Stark. We heard what he said. He said that Pepper is dead.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah. He said that. But he didn’t mean that. Really? Am I the only one who noticed it? Not even you Nat?” 

Natasha shook her head, too shocked to speak. Tony quickly started to explain. 

“First of all, he called her Pepper, not Madame Potts. Remy might be a street rat, but he would never call a woman he barely knows by her first name. That’s not the way Jean-Luc raised him. Second of all, he said that Arclight texted him with the news. TEXTED. Remy doesn’t own a phone. He says it just gets in the way. He doesn’t have a number that she could have texted him on. And, thirdly, Remy would never take someone’s death so lightly. Especially if he knew said person and felt a connection to him or her. And let me tell you right now, that Remy respects Pepper. That’s why I say that she is alive.” 

Bruce, who had by now managed to calm down a bit, asked with a shaking voice: 

“And the child?” 

Tony frowned but, before he could say anything, Bucky spoke up. 

“It’s true. Pepper is pregnant with your child. I was there when she herself said it. She was shocked, but was alright and healthy when I last saw her.” 

Steve turned his head to Tony again. 

“Tony…” 

“No. Look Steve, do you really need to see the worst in me all the time? I’m tired of this. I took you all into my home, when I could have just let you stay on the Helicarrier or in the SHIELD facility. I made upgrades to your suit and made sure that you never went into battle without the best weapons I could make. I always had your back, even if it meant risking my own life. Yeah, I’m a compulsive asshole, who almost always speaks before he thinks. I forget people’s names and insult almost everyone who isn’t on the same page as me. I get annoying, have odd sleeping patterns and forget to eat for days. I make bad decisions. But that’s just who I am. So will you please just accept it and stop treating me like a villain.” 

“I’m not…” 

But once again, Tony cut him off. 

“No. You maybe don’t see me as a villain. But what was it you said? That I should ‘stop pretending to be a hero’, right? And that you know ‘guys with none of that worth then of me’. I know you were talking about my father then. But you have to face the facts, Steve. I’m not like Howard. I’ll never be like him. And if he was what you would call a hero, then I’m sorry, but I’ll never be a hero either.” 

Then he closed his eyes and let his head, once again, fall back against the wall. Steve was left stunned by the speech. He turned to Natasha but the woman just shrugged. It was his turn to speak. He turned back to Tony. 

“Tony. I’m sorry. I meant to say this in private, but I guess I could as well do it now. I’m sorry for treating you the way I did. You are right. Ever since the beginning I’ve been trying to see Howard in you. Because the Howard I knew, was a wonderful man. And if I would get a chance to change something I would have happily exchanged it so that I met the man you grew up with, and you got to spend your childhood with the man I knew.” 

Tony slowly opened his eyes and kept them on the soldier, while the man kept talking. 

“When I woke up in that room, I was so confused. They did a good attempt at recreating how it would look during the war, but they couldn’t fool me. I spent time not knowing what had happened, why I was alive, or what happened to my entire life. So when I heard that Howard had a son, I was more than happy. But, when I found out about the Stark Industries, I figured that there would be no way for me to get into the Tower to talk with you. When Fury put the team together and I first met you, I didn’t know what to say. I’ll admit that I was disappointed. You were nothing like Howard and you seemed to dislike me for some reason, although I realize now that I was the one who pushed you over onto the not liking side. During the battle I started to realize that maybe I should try to see you as Tony the individual and not just Howard’s son. But I couldn’t. Every time I talked with you, I heard Howard. Those thousand ideas per second and constant building of machines. Sometimes I forgot that you were you and not him. I thought Bucky was dead. I assumed that so was Peggy and the Howling Commandos. I didn’t have anyone left from my past. I guess I didn’t want you to be you. I wanted at least some kind of comfort. Some link to my past. But, however much I tried to bring it out of you, you refused to be Howard. You were yourself, and for some time I hated you for it. Then I started to accept it a bit more. Especially after Ultron. I started to realize that I was in a different time. I don’t know if the knowledge that Bucky was alive helped. But when the Accords came along I just couldn’t bring myself to listen. Not only was Bucky’s life at stake, I finally realized that you were not Howard. And that you, most probably, hate me. So I ran. I should have stayed and listened. Maybe then nothing of this would have happened. When I saw those clips that Amora showed us. When I saw what Howard had became, I finally realized that I wasn’t much better than him. Always putting you down, acting as if you were guilty for everything that went wrong on the missions. I realized that, even though you weren’t always right, you would never intentionally put the team in danger. I realized why you act the way you do.” 

He paused to take a breath. Tony’s eyes were glued to him. 

“I’m sorry, Tony. For everything. There aren’t words for how sorry I am. For not trusting you. For always putting you down. For not accepting you. I’m really sorry.” 

Silence stretched over the cell. Tony and Steve were still looking at each other. Blue eyes looked pleadingly into brown ones. No one dared to make a sound. After what seemed to be an eternity, Tony nodded slowly. 

“I know you are. I’m sorry too. I’m sorry that it had to go so far for us to finally start really getting along. But I’m warning you right now, Steve. I’m not going to change. So if you still want me on the team, think it through.” 

Steve shook his head. 

“I don’t want you to change, Tony. I want you to be yourself. I want to get to know the real Tony Stark. Without trying to change him into someone I once knew. And it’s not about the team, because you are as much an Avenger as the rest of us. It’s about us, Tony. About friendship. Because I would love to be your friend. If you want that.” 

The genius nodded. 

“Yeah. I think we should try again. From the beginning.” 

Steve smiled and then suddenly got serious again. 

“And one more thing, Tony.” 

Tony nodded to signal that he was listening. 

“I was wrong about something. You are a hero. And don’t let anyone tell you anything else.” 

Shocked, Tony just nodded. At the same time, Natasha, Rhodey and Bucky smiled at each other. Maybe things really could get better. 


	72. This Man Was Dangerous

The door opened with a bang. Bullseye and Remy went inside the cell with a man most of them recognized too well. Alexander Pierce walked in with confidence and smiled when he saw the Avengers. Bucky and Tony froze. Natasha's eyes widened a bit. 

“You're supposed to be dead.” 

He nodded slowly.

“Yes. I am. What better way to make everyone leave me alone, than to make them think I'm dead?” 

Then he turned to Tony. 

“It's been a while since we met, wasn't it? I heard that you got your powers back.” 

Tony nodded slowly, keeping his cool. Pierce looked at him for almost a whole minute before he turned to Bucky. 

“Let's start with him. He has the base for it so this should be easy.” 

Moving quickly, Remy and Bullseye unhooked Bucky's shackles from the wall and started to drag him away when the cajun suddenly let go of the arm he was holding. A second later he was being held against the wall with Natasha's legs around his throat. Bucky, seeing his opening, slammed the metal fist into Bullseye’s face. The man flew back into the wall and, at that moment, Tony understood what was happening. Whatever was in their cell and the shackles blocked mutations and powers. But Bucky's metal arm was neither. Bucky, realizing that too, turned towards Pierce. But in that moment, Remy had managed to free himself from Natasha by raising one fist over his head and slamming it into her Solar Plexus. He attacked Bucky, delivering kicks and moving swiftly to avoid the metal arm. It gave Pierce the time he needed to push a few buttons on his phone. Seconds later, the door flew open and around ten guards ran inside. They all pointed their guns at Bucky, who didn't even react. He knew what was coming if he went with Pierce. And he was not becoming that person again. Suddenly, Bullseye picked himself up from the ground, grabbed one of the guns and pointed it at Wanda's head. 

“Barnes! Stop or I'll kill her!” 

That made Bucky stop. But not only him. Remy froze in his place too. Just for a second, but it was enough. Pierce frowned slightly, before he nodded to the soldiers. 

“Get him out of here. Bullseye, go with them. LeBeau. Come with me.” 

The soldiers grabbed Bucky. Bullseye walked over to them and Bucky smirked when he saw his face. His nose was most probably broken, with blood slowly coming out of it. His lip was split but it seemed that his jaw wasn't broken. After all, Bucky hadn't been able to use his super soldier strength. He pulled out a small dart and quickly plunged it into Bucky's arm. Seconds later, the soldier was only being held up by the men around him. Pierce nodded and they left. He then turned to Tony. 

“You'll be next, James. You'll work with us again. LeBeau. We're leaving.” 

And he left with Remy following him. The older man led him to a big office and pointed towards some chairs. 

“Sit down, Mr LeBeau.” 

Slowly, Remy walked over there and sunk down onto one of the chairs. He took a calming breath and focused on the emotions around him. He had to say that he was surprised. He hadn't expected Pierce to want to talk to him in a room that wasn't suppressing his powers. Pierce filled two glasses with water and put them on the table. Remy glanced at them and frowned. The older man just smiled. 

“I have a few questions to ask you. I trust that you will answer truthfully.” 

Remy almost snorted. Truthfully? That man knew who he was. How could he expect Remy to be honest. Either way, he nodded. 

“First of all, what do you think of our dear friend Justin?” 

Remy had to admit that he was shocked by that question. It wasn't what he had expected. He glanced around, but didn't notice any cameras, either seen or hidden. 

“You want an honest answer?” 

He decided to not use any forced titles. Pierce wasn't stupid. He knew that Remy didn't like authority. The older man nodded. 

“I don't like him. He thinks he is above everyone.” 

“And his lackeys?” 

Remy thought about it for a moment. 

“Bullseye is dangerous. He managed to take down and capture the Avengers. Callisto is dangerous too. In her own way. Her teleportation makes it hard to catch her off guard.” 

Pierce nodded once again and silence fell between them. Suddenly, the older man looked Remy straight in his eyes. 

“What connections do you have with the Avengers?” 

The cajun frowned. There was something different about this man. Justin was an idiot. He wasn’t dangerous. Especially not when his lackeys were taken away from him. He didn’t pose any threat. But this man, this man was dangerous. Deathly, even. He knew too much. He didn’t show any emotions. Remy was reminded of some of the hardened criminals who had seen much and lost everything. Who wouldn’t back down from doing anything. He thought about Bucky. Pierce had been very clear about what would happen to him. Brainwashed and made into the mindless assassin that he had been before. Slowly, he shrugged. 

“Tony pretty much saved my life when I was ready to throw it away. Wanda is my girlfriend. Was. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to be with me anymore. Logan and I go back to when I escaped Stryker. He helped me escape when I was hunted. Victor and I served under Sinister. After that we met at Stryker’s. As to the others, I tolerate them.” 

Pierce nodded. Then he stood up, went over to the desk and grabbed a paper. He walked back to Remy and handed him the paper. Frowning, the cajun grabbed it and looked down. His eyes flew over the words. Then he looked up at Pierce. 

“So? You compared mine and Victor’s DNA. He’s my father. I would have told you if you asked, you know.” 

Pierce raised his eyebrows. 

“Really? Didn’t I ask you about them?” 

Remy smiled softly. 

“Non. You asked about the Avengers, mon ami. Victor is a Marauder. I just added him and Logan in case you wanted to know.” 

For a long moment they just stared at each other. Then, Pierce smiled. 

“Alright. Let’s get on with the business then.” 

He lifted one of the glasses and took a sip. 

“I have a proposition for you, Mr LeBeau. I don’t enjoy acting like the underdog to Justin. And I’m guessing that you don’t like being pushed around by his lackeys. So let us make a deal. You help me take Justin and his lackeys down, I will not kill your friends.” 

Remy smiled and shook his head. 

“You really think that I am stupid, right? You say my friends and you mean only the four I mentioned. Non, mon ami. You don’t kill any of the prisoners. Not the Avengers, not the marauders, not the mutants. Don’t forget that I’m a gambler. I know how to trick people. And I won’t let myself be tricked.” 

Then he stood up started to walk towards the door. Halfway there, he turned back to Pierce and said, with a dangerous voice. 

“I’m a dangerous opponent, Pierce. And a powerful ally. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to get on my bad side.” 

Pierce just smiled, grabbed a small remote and pushed a button. A soft buzzing was heard through the air and Remy fell down onto his knees, holding onto his head. It felt as if his entire body was on fire. His head hurt, almost to the point of exploding. He was shaking and trying to shake it off, but it was impossible. A whimper escaped his mouth. Pierce stood up and walked over to him. 

“This is a new invention. It doesn’t affect ordinary people, but is said to bring extreme pain to mutants. I see that it is working.” 

He nodded to himself. 

“Now, listen carefully. You will help me. Whether you like it or not. And, let me tell you that you WILL work for me.” 

He turned off the sound and Remy took a deep breath before he looked up. 

“Why?” 

“St. Catherine Memorial Hospital.” 

Remy froze. That was the hospital in which Belladonna was in. Pierce smiled. 

“I have my people there. One word from me and Belladonna LeBeau won’t wake up.” 

Then he crouched down next to the cajun and said with a softer voice. 

“I’m not stupid either, Remy. I know that I can’t control you through the Avengers. But your family back in New Orleans is something different. You don’t want them to get dragged into this. Right?” 

Remy shook his head. 

“Non.” 

He felt pain in every cell of his body. His eyes slipped closed and he cursed himself. He knew that Pierce was dangerous. Why did he let himself be led into a trap? How could he be so stupid? He lowered his head. Pierce smiled. This boy was far too easy to see through. 

“Go back to your room for now. I will send for you when you are needed. Try anything, and your family will suffer.” 

Remy nodded shakily and stood up. Slowly, he left the room and started the walk back to his room where he knew that Pietro and Loki were waiting. 


	73. I'm Tired

Remy stepped into his room and slammed the door behind him. Pietro and Loki looked up from where they had been bent over the plans of the facility. Remy didn’t need those plans. This was one of Sinister’s labs. He knew his way around here. Loki frowned. 

“Bad news?” 

The thief nodded. 

“Pierce is going to kill Belladonna and the rest of my family if I don’t do exactly as he says. Which means that you two are on your own. I take one wrong step and it’s all over.” 

Then he threw himself on the bed and closed his eyes. Loki frowned even more. There was something that didn’t add up. Slowly, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. After a second's hesitation he put a hand on Remy’s forehead and closed his eyes. Remy felt a pressure on his walls and snapped his eyes open. He tried to sit up but Loki’s magic was holding him in place. A green glow appeared around them and forced itself into his mind. He screamed quietly when it shattered his walls into tiny pieces. And Loki just continued. He flew past his memories, until he landed on a small boy hiding in a dark alley. A man went in and smirked when he noticed the boy. A big hammer appeared in his hand and the boy tried to press himself even more into the wall. Loki moved on from the memory to another one. A boy with way too long brown hair was being hit repeatedly by a gang of teenage boys. He continued. On the bed, Remy was starting to sweat. Pietro was being held against the wall by a smaller part of Loki’s magic. Another memory. This time, the boy was older. He was trying to throw a knife into the target when he heard laughing. He peaked around the corner and noticed Jean-Luc and Henri playing ball. With tears in his eyes he turned back to his practice. Loki frowned and moved again. These were too old. He was looking for something else. He stopped when he noticed the ones he had been looking for. They were hidden behind a big wall and wrapped in chains. One burst of his magic tore the chains. Another one crushed the walls. Remy screamed again. In the memory, Remy was on an operation table. He was strapped down and Sinister was coming closer and closer with a scalpel in his hand. He smiled seeing the fear in Remy’s eyes when he realized that he wouldn’t get any sedatives. The next memory was almost identical. The next one showed Remy in a small cage, with fire lit under it. The room was unbelievably hot. Loki moved on. More memories of Remy on the operation table flashed past him, before he encountered another door. And here, Remy tried to take control once more. He did all he could to keep the wall up but it was pointless. Loki’s magic slammed into it and it fell. A grown up Remy was in a back alley. There were old newspapers on him and his eyes were closed. He would look as if he was sleeping if not for the whiteness of his face. Suddenly a light shone on him. A man appeared and smiled. He nodded and Remy was picked up by a group of soldiers. The next memories were filled with torture, far worse than what Loki could ever imagine. Not even Thanos could think of methods like that. The memories were all tinted with red. The smell of blood was present in every one of them. But, through them all, Remy stayed strong. And Loki slowly started to pull back. He moved on to another kind of memories. He saw Remy taking down Stryker’s base. Escaping from the tunnels with the little girl. Fighting Creed to save some homeless people. Sharing food with children on the streets. Gently, he left the cajuns mind, mending the wall behind him as he went. He drew back his magic and opened his eyes. Remy was completely motionless. His eyes were wide open and glowing purple, but it was almost as if he didn’t see anything. Loki sighed and put his hand on the side of Remy’s face. He eased his way back into the cajun’s mind, making sure to stay outside of the wall this time. He looked around and frowned when he came face to face with a grown up Remy. His face showed amusement. 

“Congratulations. You managed to break him.” 

Loki’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Who are you?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“Me? I’m Remy. Or, not exactly. I’m the Remy that was created in Sinister’s lab. He put me in here. To keep track of dear old Gambit. I’m supposed to keep track of what he is doing and make sure that he messes up from time to time. Just to make sure that he will go back to his master one day.” 

The jotun nodded slowly. He had heard about this. About different versions of the same person living in one brain. 

“Are there more of you here?” 

Remy nodded. 

“Sure. Follow me. I’ll take you on a tour. Since you already are here. Maybe you could make that kid stop crying. It takes all my will to not put a knife through his heart. Or blow him up.” 

He turned around and therefore missed Loki’s troubled look. This was not a Gambit he ever wanted to meet in real life. He followed the man and the bare space around them changed into a garden, with a big house. Remy led him inside and opened the door to the basement. 

“I threw him in there. After all, he should be used to that.” 

And he went down the stairs. Loki created a ball of green light and followed. But when he got to the bottom step, he stopped in shock. There, in the corner of the dark cellar, sat a small child. He recognized him as the boy from the memories. A young Remy. He took a step towards him and the child screamed. Remy rolled his eyes and threw a knife at him. 

“Cut it out.” 

Loki thought that he meant to quiet down and was therefore shocked when the boy looked at them with big eyes, lifted the knife up and put it to his tongue. He let his magic lash out and pull the weapon away from the child. Remy looked at him with annoyance. 

“Come on. Don’t tell me he doesn’t piss you off.” 

“He’s a child.” 

Suddenly they heard quick steps on the stairs and another Remy came down. Loki recognized him as the Remy that he saw in real life. But something wasn’t right. The Remy next to him smirked. 

“And the Mask arrives.” 

Mask-Remy rushed down to them and pushed Remy into a wall. 

“What are you doing? I told you to leave him alone. Do you really want to cause trouble all the time? You know that if he gets fueled then it will show on the outside and I won’t be able to keep the appearance up anymore.” 

Remy shrugged. 

“Don’t care. We have a guest.” 

Mask-Remy turned around and noticed Loki. 

“Great. Just fantastic. What are you doing here? You’ll destroy everything.” 

Loki frowned. 

“Who are you?” 

But Mask-Remy just shook his head and rushed back upstairs. Remy stepped closer to Loki. 

“That is the mask he created to keep appearances up. To make people believe that he is a carefree thief and gambler. It’s quite annoying. The Mask is bossy. That’s why I mostly travel around the mind. To not have to deal with those two.” 

He picked up his knife and put it in his pocket. Loki looked around. 

“Alright. So you were made by an outsider. This child is staying down here, whatever happens. He wouldn’t bother Remy. He just wants to be left alone where he feels safe. The Mask up there was created by Remy to keep people out. But where is the real one?” 

For the first time he noticed a flicker of fear on Remy’s face. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the one who created the Mask. The original one. Where is he?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“Not here. And I have no reason to lead you to him.” 

Then he pulled the knife out again. 

“You think I’m stupid? You are powerful. If you managed to break his walls, then you are even more powerful than Master, and that’s something. You can make me go away. I know that. So tell me, why should I help you?” 

Loki looked at him calmly. 

“Because I could do it right here, right now. Remy doesn’t need you to survive. I could destroy you and the child in a moment. Leave the Mask to deal with his life. But I’m giving you the chance to, for once do something right. And if that’s not enough of a reason for you, I can give you another one. If you lead me to the original Remy, I will not banish you from his mind. I think you could stay. You won’t do much damage to him.” 

For a long moment, Remy just stared at him. Then he nodded. 

“Alright. Follow me.” 

He led Loki upstairs and out of the house. The garden changed into a rocky ground. In front of them, Loki saw a big facility. 

“What is this place?” 

For the first time, Remy had more emotion in his voice. 

“Stryker’s island. It was a hell. Even for me.” 

He led the man inside and into a long corridor with cells on both sides. He stopped. 

“This is as far as I can go. He’s in the seventh cell on the right.” 

Loki nodded and started to walk. As he went, he noticed almost a choking feeling. He let his magic spread out around him and the feeling disappeared. In the seventh cell, he was met with a surprised Remy. He had scars all over his body and his eyes were matt. His hair looked as if he hadn’t washed it in weeks and he had black bags under his eyes. He tilted his head slightly. 

“Loki. Didn’t expect you here.” 

Then he frowned. 

“Why did you do it? He would have made it. Mask is good at what he does. Soulless would have helped. He may not care but he needs this mind to survive. And the kid would have just stayed where he is and not gotten in the way. Why did you have to destroy it all?” 

Loki went over to a bare chair and sat down. 

“Because I needed you to understand. But why this place?” 

Remy smiled sadly and sat down on the bed made of metal. 

“I needed to keep away. This was the only place where I knew they wouldn’t come. It’s too big for the kid. Mask would never come here. I could have chosen Sinister’s lab. But Soulless would have gone there. In here, I have peace.” 

“Do you?” 

The cajun sighed. 

“I did. Until you came along.” 

Loki leaned forward a bit. 

“What happened to you? Why don’t you heal yourself? Why do you hide? You are more powerful and smart than most other people. Why do you not want to be yourself?” 

Remy took a deep breath. 

“Life happened to me. Sinister happened. Stryker happened. Creed happened. All those men in dark alleys, who wanted to beat up a defenseless child. All those times when Jean-Luc put Henri before me. The tunnels.” 

He shook his head. 

“Life happened. And I’ve came up with new ways to survive it.”

“Survive it? Or hide from it?” 

They sat in silence for a long moment. Then, Loki looked at him again and asked: 

“What happened with the man who said that life had taught him to always play the hand he’s dealt?” 

Remy’s head snapped up. 

“What?”    
“I overheard it in your memories.” 

After a moment Remy shrugged. 

“I guess I’ve just lost so damn much lately, that I can’t bring myself to play anymore. I’m tired, Loki. I’m tired of this… this game. This endless game, where I can’t seem to win.” 

“Then cheat.” 

Remy’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Excuse me?” 

“You want to win this game? I can tell you right now that you won’t win it with honesty. But you might just make it if you cheat. Lie. Fool people. Whatever you have to do. This is a game where your life is the main prize.” 

Remy glanced over to the corner. First now did Loki realize that the bo-staff was standing there. Thick dust was covering it. Next to it hung the leather coat. On the ground was a pack of cards. They too were covered in dust. He looked back to Remy. The man was staring at him again. 

“Why are you doing this?” 

Loki hesitated. But then he decided to be honest. 

“Because I see myself in you.” 

Remy nodded and stood up with visible difficultness. He walked over to the wall, lifted the coat off the hook, shook the dust off of it and pulled it on. A small smile appeared on his face. He picked up the cards and put them in the pocket. Then he slowly grabbed the staff. He held it loosely for almost an entire minute before he tightened the grip and took a deep breath. 

“Let’s see if I still have it in me.” 

He twirled it in one hand before he suddenly started to swing it around. He ended up seconds later, with the tip of the staff against Loki’s throat. 

“Yeah. I still can do it.” 

Then he frowned towards the door. 

“I can get rid of the Mask. But I have no control over Soulless. He was created by Sinister.” 

Loki smirked. 

“Leave him to me.” 

They walked out into the hall and Loki noticed the look of shock on Soulless’ face. He lifted his hand and the creation took a step back. 

“You said you wouldn’t destroy me.” 

Loki shrugged. 

“I am a liar. Have always been.” 

And he closed his hand. Green magic enveloped Soulless. Just seconds later, he disappeared. Remy looked over to Loki. 

“Thanks. It feels better without him.” 

Then he waved his hand and they were suddenly standing inside the house again. Mask rushed over to them. 

“What on…?” 

He stopped mid sentence when he noticed Remy. The cajun sighed. 

“You’ve done a great job. But I’m back now.” 

Slowly, Mask faded away into the air. Loki glanced towards the door to the basement. 

“What about him?” 

Remy sighed. 

“I can’t help him. Not immediately. If I made him go away now, I think I would break from those memories and emotions. But I’ll work with him. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll find peace.” 

Loki nodded. 

“Tell me when he does. No child should have to suffer that way.” 

Then he turned back to Remy. 

“I’ll be leaving now. I put your walls back in place like they were before, so you don’t have to worry about that.” 

Remy took a deep breath. 

“Thank you, Loki.” 

Loki just nodded again and started to draw back from Remy’s mind. It wasn’t as easy as getting in. He had to be careful not to leave any of his magic behind. When he opened his eyes again, he was met with Remy’s brown ones. The cajun glared at him. 

“I hate you, you know that?” 

Loki smiled. 

“Yeah. I know. You have a plan?” 

“Oui. But it involves Pietro so I would appreciate if you would let go of him and stop choking him against the wall.” 

Loki quickly released Pietro and drew back all his magic. The speedster was next to them less than a millisecond later. 

“What was that?!” 

Remy smirked. 

“That was Loki talking some sense into me. Anyway, I have a plan. But I need both of you to do exactly as I say for this to work.” 


	74. I Have A Deal

“Pietro. How long will it take you to get to New Orleans?” 

The speedster looked almost offended and Remy nodded. 

“Bad question. Look. I need you to get to St. Catherine Memorial Hospital. Ask for Belladonna LeBeau. Get her out of there. Do you know where the Savage Lands are?” 

Pietro shook his head. 

“No. But it shouldn’t take me long to find it.” 

“Alright. Take her there. Tell Iggy that I sent you. She will understand. And stay with them. Protect them.” 

And, when Pietro was still standing there a few seconds later, he added impatiently: 

“Now.” 

The white haired man nodded quickly. 

“Take care of my sister.” 

Remy nodded. 

“I will.” 

And he disappeared. Remy turned to Loki. 

“You said you wanted to help, right?” 

The jotun nodded. 

“And you realize that this might be a one way trip?” 

Another nod. No hesitation could be seen on his face. 

“It’s not like I had anything planned. And, many have tried to kill me before. None succeeded.” 

Remy sat down on the bed again and tilted his head slightly. 

“I’ve heard that you can take on other forms. Imitate other people. Is that right?” 

Loki frowned slightly. He had no idea where this was going, but he had agreed to the plan before it was even formed. Even if it ended badly for himself. So he nodded. 

“Good. Make yourself look like me and stick around here.You’ve been in my brain so you know how to act. Make sure that Pierce doesn’t leave this place. And keep an eye on Bullseye and Callisto. Ignore Justin. He isn’t dangerous.” 

“And what about you?” 

The cajun sighed tiredly. 

“I have a prison to break into. And a deal to make.” 

Loki felt sudden nervousness at those words. 

“A deal. You don’t exactly have the best record with making deals. We can always find another way. Ask the X-Men to help. The SHIELD.” 

Remy shook his head. 

“No. There are too many anti mutant devices and systems here. They won’t be of any use. And SHIELD will not do any good here. They might be well trained, but they can’t go against mutants and whatever else Pierce has here. That’s what they have the Avengers for. So no, we can’t ask them for help. And I know all about my bad life choices. Trust me. But this time, I know what I’m doing.” 

They stared at each other for almost an entire minute, before Loki slowly let his appearance shift. And soon, Remy was looking straight at a copy of himself. He nodded. 

“Alright. I’ll be leaving then.”

He stood up and quickly exited the room. He used every single trick he knew to sneak out of the building. Once outside, he dragged in a deep breath. What Loki had done in his mind was still odd. He hadn’t been fully himself in so long. But there was no time to stand and think about it. Quickly, he found the truck he had taken from Tony’s garage and drove off. He knew exactly where he was going. It took him half an hour to get to the shore, but then he realized a problem. Raft was an island. Looking around, he noticed a motorboat. And he wasn’t a thief for nothing. Minutes later, he was on the water, steering towards where he knew the prison was. He knew that what he was going to do was stupid. Dangerous. Maybe even suicidal. But he had to do something. It took him almost three hours to get to the prison. Getting inside proved to be easier than breaking inside the Tower. He stopped by the control room and turned off all the cameras. He didn’t need any witnesses for this. Moving quickly, he went to where the most dangerous prisoners were held and stopped when he was outside Sinister’s cell. The scientist looked up, hearing his steps, and frowned. 

“Remy LeBeau. I didn’t expect to see you ever again.” 

The cajun shrugged. 

“Desperate times.” 

He ignored Ross, who was glaring at him from the cell next to them, and took a few steps towards the scientist. 

“That operation you did to me. The one that repressed my powers. Can you reverse it?” 

Sinister stood up slowly. The prison clothes were a bit too big for him and Remy had to hold back a smile. 

“You want me to reverse the operation?” 

Remy nodded. 

“And why?” 

The cajun shrugged. 

“That is none of your business.” 

“How is it no…” 

“I have a deal for you.” 

That made the scientist stop and nod. Curiosity was written all over his face. Remy took a deep breath. 

“I’ll let you out. Take you back to your lab. You perform the surgery. Afterwards, I’ll leave you there. As long as you won’t get in my way, I won’t get in yours ever again.” 

In his cell, Ross burst out laughing. Both Remy and Sinister turned towards him. He put one hand up. 

“I’m sorry. But it’s so hilarious that the Avengers put us here, while their biggest threat is actually one of them. Now I understand why Stryker liked you so much. Does Stark know that you are a traitor?” 

Remy felt pain, as if someone have stabbed him. But he pressed it down. There was no point in listening to this man. He was not going to get anything out of it. He turned back to Sinister. 

“I can’t promise you that the others won’t want to hunt you down. We let the Marauders go. And they are not coming back to you.” 

The scientist nodded. 

“I could work with that. Now get me out of here.” 

Remy walked forwards and put his hand on the control that was keeping the door open. But then he hesitated and looked up into the red eyes of his enemy. 

“How do you know I won’t betray you once you do the operation? How do I know that you won’t kill me?” 

Sinister smirked. 

“I guess we’ll just have to trust each other.” 

He didn’t like it. It was too easy. But there were no other options. He had to do this and get back before anyone realized that the Remy who was left in the labs was not the real one. He charged the control and it exploded seconds later. The door slid open and Sinister walked outside. Remy felt the uneasy feeling he had always felt when he was close to the scientist, but there were no attempts to get into his mind, so he relaxed slightly. 

“Follow me. This place will be crawling with soldiers very soon.” 

He led the man through the corridors, occasionally knocking out some soldiers who ran into them. They got to the roof and Remy looked around quickly. He spotted a small plane and grinned. 

“Come on.” 

Sinister frowned. 

“You know how to fly one of those?” 

Remy nodded sharply. 

“Yeah. I’ve done it one time.” 

He jumped in behind the controls and felt relief when he noticed that it was the same kind of plane that he had stolen back then. Back when he was fleeing from that island. Sinister got into the passenger seat. 

“Buckle up.” 

Sinister glanced over to him and puffed out an annoyed breath. Remy felt amusement. Alright. If the scientist wanted to be difficult. He lifted off the ground, flew over the edge and dove towards the sea. He noticed that Sinister quickly reached for the belt and grinned. He loved this. He wasn’t going to lie. He was addicted to the speed. Just like when he drove. It had to be fast. There was some kind of freedom in that. Just as they were about to hit the water, he righted the plane out and flew close to the water. Sinister understood quickly why, when he saw big lights being cast up into the sky. They flew the entire way back to land in silence. There, the scientist started to explain how Remy should fly to get to the laboratory, when Remy interrupted him. 

“I know the way.” 

Ten minutes later, he landed on the roof of the building. They got out and Sinister smirked when he noticed how Remy led the way without any hesitation. 

“You really remember your way around here.” 

Remy just nodded. They got to the door to the surgery room and Remy hesitated slightly before he opened the door. He looked around and frowned. 

“Nothing have changed.” 

Sinister walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a box with scalpels and another with a syringe. Meanwhile, Remy was still looking around. The scientist turned towards him and pointed at one of the operation tables. 

“You know the drill.” 

Remy nodded and went over to the table. Slowly, he shrugged the coat off and laid down on his front. He tensed up when Sinister approached but didn’t say anything. The scientist put the scalpels next to the bed and lifted the syringe. But then he stopped. 

“Are you sure about this?” 

Remy glanced up at him with a frown. 

“What? You suddenly developed a conscience and worry about me?” 

Sinister snorted. 

“Not really. I’m worried about what you can do to me and this place once you have all your powers back.” 

Remy turned his face down towards the bed again. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll have control.” 

And he added in his brain: ‘I have to’.


	75. Not Her

Remy’s eyes opened slowly. He felt hungover, which was a shock, since he couldn't get drunk. The last time he felt that way was when Sinister had put him on drugs. He sat up with a wince and looked around. A lab. He was in a lab. And all the memories crashed into him. Pierce. Loki. The deal. He looked around the lab. He didn’t feel different. Carefully, he jumped off the table and noticed a paper that fell of it at the same time. He picked it up and quickly read what was written. ‘Remy. After thinking it through I’ve decided to not go through the procedure of restoring you to your full power. It would get too dangerous for me to have you so powerful. I will not bother you if you don’t bother me. Mister Sinister.’ His eyes widened. Sinister had fooled him. He had let a dangerous man out into the world and gained nothing from it. Quickly he glanced over to the clock on the wall. He had been gone for seven hours. He had to go back. He rushed out and was shocked when he noticed that his plane was still there. It was surprising that Sinister hadn’t taken it, but he didn’t dwell on it too long. Quickly, he got in and lifted. Pushing the little plane to the limits, he made it to the shore in a bit under an hour. He landed and quickly got into one of the boats that were empty. All the way to the island, he felt fear. What if he was too late? What if someone found out that he had been gone? He was slowly starting to doubt himself more and more. He left the boat next to the rocks and ran inside. He made his way to the room he had been given and slipped inside. He was surprised to find it empty. But, just seconds later, Loki appeared. He was looking normal and Remy relaxed slightly. 

“Is everything alright?” 

Loki glared at him for a few seconds, before he flopped down onto the bed. Remy frowned. 

“Loki?” 

“Pierce wants to talk to you. The real you.” 

Remy’s eyes widened. 

“He knows?” 

Loki nodded. 

“But… How?” 

“He tried to torture me… well, you. But, as it seems, that device of his doesn’t work on jotuns. So he figured out that I was not really you. I managed to get out in the last second, but I heard him say that he wants to talk to the real you.” 

Remy felt slight fear, but decided to ignore it. He nodded. 

“Alright.” 

He started heading towards the door when Loki’s voice stopped him. 

“How did it go for you?” 

He froze, before he turned around. 

“Sinister tricked me. He’s on the loose now.” 

Then he marched outside. He went to the room where he had talked with Pierce before and knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened and he was standing face to face with Bucky. He frowned when he noticed his eyes. They were hollow. Empty. Dead. The soldier grabbed him, before he could even think about moving, and pulled him so harshly that he actually fell to the ground. He landed on his knees and was going to turn around, when the hum started. Pain shot through his entire body and he curled up on the floor. A few minutes later, it all stopped. He was left lying on the floor, shaking slightly. He heard steps coming towards him and tried to sit up, but a heavy boot on his back forced him back down. 

“Did you really think that you could fool ME, mr LeBeau?” 

Pierce didn’t sound angry and Remy was reminded of his initial thoughts about this man. Dangerous. 

“I got word from my agents on the Raft. You released Sinister.” 

He let his head rest against the floor. There was no idea in fighting anymore. No point. He had lost. All he could hope for now was that Loki and Pietro were smarter than him and called in help. That they would save everyone. 

“Asset. Take him to the labs. And tell them to ready the char.” 

Bucky leaned down and grabbed Remy’s neck, pulling him up by it. Remy chanced a glance at Pierce. The man was looking at him with an almost disappointed face. But, before he could figure out why he would look disappointed, the man turned away and Barnes started dragging him out of the room. In the corridor, they suddenly stopped and Bucky leaned closer to him. 

“Do you have a plan?” 

He looked up at him with shock. Bucky smirked. 

“Whatever they did to the chair to hurt mutants, made it useless when it comes to brainwashing. But I remember enough from my time as the Winter Soldier to be able to fake it convincingly. So, do you have a plan?” 

Slowly, Remy shook his head. 

“No.” 

And that made the soldier look at him with sudden anger. 

“So you are just going to let the others rot down there?” 

Remy frowned. 

“And what do you expect me to do? I’m not strong enough to take this base down alone. I can’t do anything.” 

“So you’re just giving up?” 

Remy shrugged and Bucky’s face became blank again. He gripped the cajun’s neck harder and continued dragging him towards the lab. 

 

                                                       ***

The doors flew open and six guards walked inside. Pierce was following them with Bullseye and Callisto. He stopped in the middle and smirked. 

“Who to choose? Who would affect him the most?” 

His eyes stopped at Victor for a moment, but then he shook his head. 

“No. You may be his biological father, but he knows you too well to let something like this affect him.”

He continued on and this time stopped on Wanda.

“Take her.”

Bullseye and Callisto quickly moved over to the girl and unchained her. Her eyes were wide open and she was struggling but couldn’t get away from the two holding her. Pierce frowned. 

“Miss Maximoff. I would advise you to stop struggling. And if you as much as try to use your powers once we get out from this room, I will make sure that your friends in here die a very painful death. 

That made the girl still in horror. She glanced first to Steve and then Tony. The genius took a deep breath. 

“Pierce. Leave her alone. She’s just a kid. Take me instead.” 

The man shook his head. 

“No. I was considering it, but I decided that it wouldn’t be as much of a motivation and punishment. It has to be her.” 

He nodded to the soldiers and they all dragged a shocked Wanda out of there. They took her to a big laboratory and pushed her into a chair. Her eyes widened when she remembered what Tony and Bucky had told them about those chairs. Pierce smiled and walked over to one of the corners of the room. To Wanda’s horror, she saw Bucky standing there, his eyes empty. Pierce nodded to him and he grabbed a bundle that was laying at his feet. To Wanda’s shock, the bundle turned out to be Remy. He was shaking slightly and had visible trouble maintaining eye contact with Pierce. The man tilted his head slightly. 

“Did you really think that you would get away with this little stunt of yours? You really thought that you could get Sinister to go against me? He knows better than to go against someone who so clearly is heading towards the same goal as him. Now, you’ll get your punishment.” 

He looked up at Bucky. 

“Make sure he doesn’t turn away or close his eyes.” 

He nodded and tightened his hold on Remy’s neck. First now, did the cajun notice Wanda. His eyes widened and he started shaking his head, but the strong grip on his neck prevented him from any further movement. 

“No. Not her. I’ll do anything. Not her.” 

Pierce shook his head with a slight  smirk. 

“It has to be her. Maybe next time you will think before you go against me.” 

Then he walked over to Wanda and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.  

“Look very closely and that man. He is the reason this is happening to you.” 

He nodded and one of the guards turned the chair on. 

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!” 

Wanda’s scream tore through the building. Her eyes closed and tears started flowing freely. Remy closed his eyes too, but a sharp slap from Pierce made him open them again. The girl was still screaming her lungs out and he felt something building up inside him. Pierce, who had been watching him, was shocked when the cajun’s eyes suddenly turned completely black except for a red pupil. Remy suddenly noticed the whole world change colours into much brighter. He still remembered the last time he saw things that way. Before Sinister’s surgery. And Wanda kept screaming. Her entire body was shaking. And suddenly, he felt the pressure get too much. 

“NO!” 

His scream matched Wanda’s. And then, everything started exploding. The machines, the walls, the clothes on Pierce and the scientists and guards. On the chair, Wanda passed out. 

 


End file.
